Baking and Creating with Avril

Homemade Chocolate Sauce

2012-02-06T22:12:00.004-05:00

Valentine's Day is just around the corner. I suggest you make this recipe for chocolate sauce for EVERYONE that you adore, love and cherish (and that likes chocolate of course). It is a simple recipe that is just divine. You can eat it by the spoonful or warm it gently and pour over ice cream. It is the perfect gift for Heart Day!

The recipe makes enough sauce to fill two 8 oz. jars + one 6 oz. jar. I especially like filling empty Bonne Maman jam jars with the sauce because of the pretty red and white lids which make for a very attractive decadent gift. I filled 12 Bonne Maman jars with chocolate sauce and gave them away to anyone that would accept them (no one turned them down) this past Christmas. I'm pretty proud of myself.

Unfortunately, with all the hustle and bustle of the holidays I have lost the original source for this recipe. If it is your recipe please let me know! I want to give you a huge hug for such a yummy creation. I also want to commend you for the brilliance of making the recipe without corn syrup. For years I have been searching for a chocolate sauce recipe that is yummy, easy and doesn't contain corn syrup in the ingredient list. My search has finally come to end with the discovery of this recipe. Hip Hip HOORAY!!! Hopefully I will be able to provide many of you with the same yummy happiness as I share this recipe now on my blog.

Homemade Chocolate Sauce

Ingredients:

5 oz. unsweetened chocolate

1 stick butter, unsalted

1 14 oz. can evaporated milk

3 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a double boiler melt chocolate and butter. Stirring gently on occasion to help with the melting process.

2. Remove double boiler from heat and add evaporated milk and then powdered sugar - whisk all together. Place pan back on heat and gently continue to whisk all ingredients together until smooth and shiny.

3. Keep sauce over heat for 5-7 minutes stirring occasionally until sauce starts to thicken (sauce will thicken much more when it becomes cold). Remove from heat and add vanilla extract. Pour into jars and cool slightly before covering and storing in refrigerator until you gift away or eat your Heavenly chocolate sauce yourself.

Heat uncovered jar of sauce in microwave for 20-25 seconds, stir and serve.

Enjoy!

Happy Homemade Chocolate Sauce Making!

Buttermilk Berry Muffins

2012-01-29T23:17:00.001-05:00

Lately I have been dreaming I warmer days. Days filled with beautiful sunshine hot enough to make us yearn for cool waters to play and swim in. Berry picking is another activity that I identify with warm and sunny days. Unfortunately right now here in Southern NH warm weather is far far away....well at least another 3 months away I should say. So in the meantime I have chosen to bake with berries. If I don't look outside (at the snow and ice) and just stay cozy in my kitchen (with my berries) warm weather is possible in my world.

I love how this recipe provided such yummy muffins. The texture was soft and almost cake like - many thanks to the buttermilk. The flavor of the berries along with the lemon zest gave off a delicious sweetness with just a touch of tartness from the lemon. The original recipe only called for blueberries but because I had some lovely raspberries frozen from last summers picking I decided to add those in too.....thus the "berry" muffins.

I consider buttermilk the magic of all recipes when part of the ingredient list as it adds such a perfect taste and texture to the recipe. Please don't let buttermilk intimidate you as it is made so easily with milk and a splash of lemon juice. Let those two characters sit together for a couple of minutes unstirred and viola you have buttermilk!

Buttermilk Berry Muffins

(recipe recipe slightly adapted from Warmth in the North)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter - at room temp

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 Tbsp lemon zest

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs - at room temp

2 cups flour - divided

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 heaping cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

1 heaping cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)

2 Tbsp sugar - for dusting

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line muffin tins with paper liners. I used regular size muffin tins but will make jumbo muffins next time I make this recipe.

2. In a large bowl cream together butter, sugar, lemon zest and salt until light and fluffy. Add in eggs one at at time.

3. In a medium bowl combine 1 3/4 cup flour and baking powder. Add to butter mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Mix all together just until incorporated.

4. Toss berries with remaining 1/4 cup flour in a medium bowl and then gently fold into batter. Scoop batter into prepared muffin tins.

5. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool and serve.

Enjoy!

Dreaming of warm weather! :-)

Happy Buttermilk Berry Muffin Baking!

White Chocolate Cranberry Bars

2012-01-24T21:03:00.002-05:00

I often find myself thinking ahead to the next holiday. Not only to plan an activity or event around it but also to make sure I have plenty of fun things to bake for that particular holiday. I guess its all part of my passion for baking.

This past holiday season I did a huge amount of baking - not only for my family and friends but also for a local gift shop that wanted to sale homemade baked goodies for the holiday season. I was a baking fool! And I was in "baking HEAVEN" as I had an opportunity to bake to my hearts content many of the recipes that I had been accumulating on my wish list. One of the recipes that I made was called, White Chocolate Cranberry Bars. I found the recipe in the Fat Witch Brownies cookbook - originally the recipe was just for White Chocolate Bars but because I was in the mood for some dried cranberries I decided to sprinkle some into the batter. Success I say! The tart sweetness of the cranberries was perfectly paired with the smooth richness of the white chocolate. I was delighted with the results!

Valentine's Day is just around the corner. These brownies would be just perfect for Heart Day as it is made with chocolate (how can you not bake something with chocolate in it for Heart Day!) and it has a sprinkling of red from the dried cranberries. I am thinking that I will make a batch of these brownies and then cut out servings with heart cookie cutters. A perfect Valentine's Day treat!

White Chocolate Cranberry Bars

(slightly adapted from Fat Witch Brownies)

Ingredients:

6 oz. white chocolate, coarsely chopped

5 Tbps unsalted butter

2 large eggs

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x9 baking pan with butter and dust with flour lightly. Tap out any excess flour.

2. Melt white chocolate and butter in small saucepan over low heat. Stir constantly so as to make sure that the chocolate does not burn. Remove chocolate and butter from heat before completely melted and continue to stirring until mixture is completely smooth. Set saucepan aside to cool.

3. Beat eggs, sugar and vanilla extract all together in a large bowl until smooth. Add in white chocolate butter mixture and mix until well combined.

4. Measure flour, baking powder and salt into a sifter or fine sieve - sift together directly into batter. Mix until well combined and there is no trace of the dry ingredients remains.

5. Spread batter into prepared baking pan with a spatula. Bake for 25 minutes or until the top is light brown and cracked. Turn off oven and leave pan inside oven for 8 more minutes.

Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting and serving.

YUM!

Happy White Chocolate Cranberry Bars Baking!

A gift of a soup...Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup

2012-01-08T08:12:00.000-05:00

Recently a good friend of mine (Hey, Melissa!) made a big pot of this soup and handed me a lovely container of it for me to enjoy with my family. What a gift of a soup! Not only did we enjoy a delicious lunch of hot soup on a damp cold day but I then acquired recipe that I have been able to use over and over again since then to make as gifts for other friends of mine. One of my friends even said that it was the BEST soup she had ever tasted. Goodness did that make me happy!

The flavors of pumpkin, curry and cumin all come together to form a delicious party in your mouth. The texture of the soup is fun too as it has the smoothness of the pumpkin puree but also the perfection of the small black beans along with soft diced tomatoes. All of the textures and tastes come together to make one delicious soup.

And the soup is very easy to make! It would make a lovely week-night dish as it can be made and on the table within 30 minutes.

Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup

(recipe from Rachel Ray)

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cups vegetable or chicken stock

1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes in juice, undrained

1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed

2 cans (15 oz) pumpkin puree

1 cup heavy cream (I used 1/2 and 1/2)

1 heaping Tbsp curry powder

1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

salt to taste

chives, chopped for garnish

Directions:

1. Heat a large soup pan over medium high heat with 2 Tbsp of olive oil. Add in chopped onion and cook until translucent and soft.

2. Add in broth, diced tomatoes, black beans and pumpkin puree. Stir all together and bring soup to a gentle boil.

3. Reduce heat to medium low and stir in cream (or 1/2 and 1/2), curry powder, ground cumin and salt. Simmer soup for at least 5 minutes. Taste soup and adjust seasonings if need be.

Sprinkle soup with chopped chives and serve with a lovely hearty bread. D'lish!

Happy Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup Making!

Almond Torte for the Secret Recipe Club

2011-12-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

Today I greet you with a beautiful recipe for an Almond Torte. This month for the Secret Recipe Club I was assigned to an amazingly savory and creative food blog called, Gastronomical Sovereignty . My goodness is Kristy a talented cook! She makes dishes that I dream of having on my table every night. Vegetables of all kinds is one of her focuses along with many, many spices all coming together to make beautiful dishes.

As many of you know so well, I tend to gravitate towards the sweets of life. I choose an Almond Torte to make from Kristy's collection of recipes. A simple recipe that requires simple ingredients yet has a very satisfying result. As mentioned by Kristy this cake is perfectly paired with a nice HOT cup of tea. I do have to say that in order for this cake to be a success you must have a food processor as you will need to grind roasted almonds and granulated sugar to achieve the right consistency for the recipe.

Almond Torte

(recipe from Gastronomical Sovereignty)

Ingredients:

450 g whole blanched almonds, lightly roasted

10 1/2 Tbsp butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar

6 eggs

1 cup flour

2 tsp grated lemon rind (1 lemon gave me the perfect amount)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease 9" spring form pan.

2. Place roasted almonds in food processor and grind for about 20-30 seconds to obtain a fine consistency. Do the same with the granulated sugar.

3. Cream together butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time to combine well after each addition.

3. Stir in ground almonds, sugar, flour and lemon rind. Mix just until all combined.

4. Pour batter into prepared spring form pan and bake for 1 hr and 20 minutes. Cool for 5-10 minutes before removing side of pan.

Share with dear friends and family - serve with hot tea or coffee. YUM!

Happy Almond Torte Baking!

Shrimp Fried Rice

2011-12-06T21:45:00.001-05:00

It is essential to have a quick, super yummy, stress free and healthy dinner recipe up your sleeve for this time of year. I am sure many of you are starting to get that heavy almost dizzy feeling of holiday craziness swirling around in your head by now. Goodness it is almost 2 1/2 weeks until Christmas (yes, I said 2 1/2 weeks!) by golly! Don't panic. It will ALL get done some how or another. And if it doesn't....well, there is always next year. Can you tell how I calm myself down when I start to panic about not being able to fit it all in or complete all those last minute "most make" or "must bake" or "must finish" projects? I reason with myself. That's all there is to it. And then I eat something delicious and all my stress disappears just like that! Magic. Simple and pure magic.

Today I want to share with you a little magical recipe for dinner time (or lunch if you are so inclined). It is simple. It is quick. It is even flexible as far as ingredients are concerned. And yes, it is SUPER good! Shrimp Fried Rice. And, if you really want you could add cooked beef or chicken to the rice instead of shrimp. Or you could just load it up with lots of veggies and call it a Veggie Fried Rice. Go nuts with this recipe. Make it your own variation of fried rice with what you choose to add in to it. No matter what it will be magically d'lish!

Shrimp Fried Rice

(recipe found on my go-to recipe source, Tasty Kitchen - I just LOVE this site!!)

Ingredients:

1 cup rice (white or brown)

4-6 Tbsp butter (you choose how crazy you want to get with your butta...I used 4 Tbsp and it was plenty)

1 lb shrimp, washed, shelled and deveined

1 cup frozen peas

1/2 onion, chopped

1/3 cup soy sauce (more or less depending on your taste)

3-4 green onions, chopped

Directions:

1. Cook rice in 2 cups water until done. Add in butter and toss around a bit so that it melts into rice nicely.

2. Saute chopped onions until soft and translucent. Add to rice along with soy sauce, peas and shrimp. Cook all together for a good 5-7 minutes making sure peas are no longer frozen and shrimp is not over cooked.

3. Just before serving toss in chopped green onions and then sprinkle some on top of dish just for good measure (and to make it pretty).

Enjoy!

Happy Shrimp Fried Rice Making!

Honey Challah Bread for Secret Recipe Club

2011-11-27T17:01:00.001-05:00

There are many things in life that make me happy. For example; a beautiful tablecloth, a cup of tea/coffee shared with a close friend, precious baby leaves on the branches of a tree in the Spring-time, the hands and smiles of my children and the process of making bread made with yeast. Yes, I love to make bread. I love the process of taking simple ingredients and creating a soft and full bowl of dough that comes alive before my eyes creating a master piece of yumminess into a loaf of bread.

This past month I was given a gift of a new recipe for a bread made with yeast, Honey Challah. I discovered this recipe as I was exploring the blog, Farm Girl Gourmet as I was assigned this amazing blog for the month of November from the Secret Recipe Club. I felt so fortunate to be assigned Farm Girl Gourmet's blog. I actually double checked my email that contained my blog assignment just to make sure my pure happiness was in the right place as I was over the moon excited to have been given the blog Farm Girl Gourmet. Heather's blog is packed with beautiful recipes that are explained to perfection and shown with amazing and very helpful pictures. I have had so much fun frequenting her blog and getting to know her from afar. If only we lived closer I might have just invited myself over for tea as she seems like someone I would just adore getting to know in real life. :-)

I have been looking for a good Challah recipe now for some time so when I opened Heather's blog to discover that she had the very recipe I had been searching for I couldn't resist making her bread. What a gem of a recipe! So easy and out-of-this-world delicious! It will be a perfect bread for me to make as gifts for this holiday season.

Honey Challah
(recipe from Farm Girl Gourmet)

Ingredients:

1 cup warm water
4 1/2 tsp yeast
1/2 cup sugar + 1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 eggs
2 tsp salt
4 1/2 - 5 cups flour (more if needed)
1 egg beaten, for the egg wash

Directions:
1. Add warm water to the bowl of a standing mixer. Attach dough hook. Sprinkle yeast and 1 tsp sugar over the warm water. Stir all together briefly and allow the 3 ingredients to grow together for 5 minutes.

2. Add in the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, honey, butter, 3 eggs, salt and 4 1/2 cups flour to the bowl. On the lowest speed, mix all together until the flour is mostly incorporated and then increase speed to medium and mix for 5 minutes. Dough will become smooth with elasticity. Add in more flour if needed to make a soft craggy ball (I had to add in at least another cup to get to this stage but don't add too much flour as you want your dough to be very soft).
3. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand about 5 times. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and turn to coat all sides of dough. Cover with a damp, clean towel and place in warm draft free area for 2 hours, or until doubled in size. (I placed my covered bowl in a closed oven that I had warmed briefly on the lowest temperature and then turned off as Heather so brilliantly suggested to do in her recipe. It worked like a charm!)

Hello there magical dough!

4. Gently punch down dough and then place on a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into 3 equal pieces. Using your hands, roll out each piece to a 14" rope. Pinch the 3 ropes together and then braid loosely, pinching together at the end.

5. Place braid on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Allow dough to rest and double in size in a draft free location - which should take about 45 minutes.

6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Brush braided bread completely with beaten egg. Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown. Cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make sure you slice off a piece of this heavenly bread while it still holds some heat from the oven. Slather it with butter, close your eyes and take a bite. You won't regret it. I promise you!

Served with your favorite jam is also quite yummy....

I want to take a moment to show my deep appreciation to Amanda, who created the Secret Recipe Club and Tami who does such an amazing job as the hostess of my group (Group D). I am having so much fun discovering new blogs and making new friends through the fun of the Secret Recipe Club!

Happy Honey Hallah Bread Baking!

Apple Pie Cake

2011-11-13T07:30:00.000-05:00

I actually have an APPLE recipe for you today instead of a PUMPKIN recipe! I feel like all I do is bake with pumpkin these days. Which is not a bad thing at all believe me (I ADORE pumpkin!!) - but I like to provide a little variety in my baking to keep my friends, family and blog readers happy. :-)

When I came across this recipe for an Apple Pie Cake my eyes grew wide, my heart started to beat faster and bounced in my chair with happiness. An Apple Pie Cake sounded AMAZING! Boy, oh boy was it ever! So yummy. So easy to make. AND it only requires 6 ingredients to make!!!! Yup, only SIX.

You will need a 9 inch springform pan to make this apple-lious treat. A lovely mixture of brown sugar, cinnamon, flour and (COLD) butter form the bottom, sides and top of this pie/cake. You will first gently press a large portion of the brown sugar/flour mixture on the bottom and sides of the springform pan, fill the inside with all your prepared tart apples and then top apples with the remaining brown sugar/flour mixture. Which becomes the top of the pie/cake. It all comes together like magic as you are using such simple ingredients to make a wonderfully unique and delicious dessert. So grab some apples, your springform pan, a couple of ingredients from your pantry and fridge and preheat your oven to create a perfect Fall dessert. Then invite me over for a piece - I will bring freshly sweetened whipped cream to go on top! ;-)

Apple Pie Cake
(from the famous Martha Stewart)

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
about 12 tart apples - such as Granny Smith
2 Tbsp lemon juice

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon. With a pastry cutter add in butter pieces and cut into flour mixture until small pea size pieces remain.

2. Press 2/3 of the brown sugar/flour/butter mixture on the bottom and up 1 inch of the sides of a 9 inch springform pan. Set pan aside.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare apples by peeling and then slicing into thin slices and placing in a large bowl. Sprinkle apples with lemon juice so that they do not turn brown and then sprinkle with remaining 1 tsp of ground cinnamon.

4. Place sliced apples into the shell of your prepared springform pan, pressing down gently as you pack them in. If the apples mound over the edge of your pan that is ok - the more the better! Sprinkle remaining brown sugar/flour/butter mixture over apples.

5. Line a cookie sheet with tin foil and then place prepared dessert on top before popping the whole thing into the oven. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until golden brown on top. When pie/cake come out of the oven carefully run a knife around the edge of the pan and then allow to cool so that the magical yummy treat can set.

Serve at room temperature if you wish!

Happy Apple Pie Cake Baking!

Pumpkies (the cutest name ever)

2011-11-05T12:51:00.000-04:00

I mean seriously doesn't it make you want to say, "ahhh" when you hear the word pumpkie? I just love that word! And I love what a pumpkie actually is! Can you guess what it is? It is not a cookie. Not cake. Not even a mini pie. It's a.....brownie! Yes, a pumpkin brownie! A lovely, sweet and easy to make pumpkin brownie. A Pumpkie. Go ahead, you can say it - it will make you smile. :-)

Want the recipe? I know you do!

Pumpkies

(recipe from Mother Thyme - I so LOVE Jennifer's blog)

Ingredients:

1/3 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

3/4 cup flour

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8x8 baking pan - set aside.

2. Beat butter until light and fluffy - about 2-3 minutes. Add in sugar, egg and pumpkin puree. Mix all together until well combined.

3. Add in flour, spices and salt to your pumpkin mixture. Mix all together until well combined.

4. Pour batter into prepared pan and then pop into preheated oven for 30-35 minutes. Cool as much as you wish and serve.

*I served mine slightly warm and wished that I had some freshly whipped cream to dollop on top as I think that would have been super yummy...next time I will do so!

Happy Pumpkies Baking!

It Is Secret Recipe Club Time!

2011-10-31T08:00:00.000-04:00

Recently I joined a fun cooking group online called, The Secret Recipe Club. Oh. My. Goodness what fun! I was assigned a LOVELY blog and from that blog I got to choose a recipe to make and then share with all of you. But I couldn't reveal the blog or the recipe until today! So without any further waiting my secret recipe for today is, Mini Pumpkin Muffins....

.... from the wonderful blog, Everyday Sisters. :-)

Not only did I enjoy this recipe (as I am sure you guys will too) but I fell head over heels in love with this blog! Four (yes, FOUR...two of which are identical twins and all four of which are just lovely inside and out - I can tell by their sweet smiles.) sisters have created and contribute to Everyday Sisters. All of them are just lovely - I feel like I know them personally now that I have been following them for the past month. I felt honored to get to know them via their blog. I love the variety of recipes that they offer such as Bistro Style Pasta Neapolitano (super yum looking and simple to throw together), White Zinfandel Sangria (one of my all time favorite kinds of drinks...the recipe lots so GOOD!) and Blueberry Cheesecake (which won an award!). Yup, I did a lot of drooling as I looked through their blog. So many yummy recipes!! :-)

I loved these Mini Pumpkin Muffins! These little gems only required 5 ingredients - simple, yummy and fun. Nothing better than that. Amen! And because they were so yummy and simple to make I made a batch to send to my oldest daughter's Halloween party at school today. I think all the kiddos will love them!

Mini Pumpkin Muffins

(recipe from Everyday Sisters)

Ingredients:

1 box yellow cake mix

1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin (NOT pie filling)

3 eggs

1/3 cup oil (I used canola)

sunflower seeds - optional - (I used chocolate covered sunflower seeds as that is what I had on hand... which worked out pretty well!)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease mini muffin tins or line with cupcake liners.

2. In a large bowl combine all ingredients except for sunflower seeds. Mix until well combined.

3. Stir into batter sunflower seeds or you can wait until muffin batter has been scooped into tins.

4. Scoop batter into muffin tins. I did so with my small scoop from Pampered Chef.

5. Bake for 11-13 minutes. Cool for a couple of minutes in pan and then remove to serve and enjoy.

YUM!

A special thank you to Ellen, Nanci, Karen and Susan from Everyday Sisters for being part of the Secret Recipe Club so that I could have you as my first Secret Recipe Club blog. Also, I'd like to thank Amanda who created this cooking club and Tami for hostessing my group. I can't wait to find out which blog I get for the month of November!

Happy Mini Pumpkin Muffin Baking!

A PERFECT Bake Sale Cookie Recipe

2011-10-28T22:10:00.001-04:00

Recently I made a new cookie recipe. It had peanut butter in it and LOTS of chocolate chips. It made a HUGE amount of cookies and they tasted AMAZING. Every time I bit into one of the cookies all I could think of is how perfect the recipe would be for a bake sale. Especially if the cookies were wrapped up in a pretty little package with a ribbon. :-)

Now I just need to find an opportunity to make these cookies again! Anyone have a bake sale coming up that you need some cookies for it? Let me know if you do because I've got just the recipe destined for a bake sale.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
(recipe from the lovely Jamie Cooks it Up! )

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter (I used smooth, Jaime used chunky)
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 (12 oz.) bag semi sweet chocolate chips
1 (12 oz.) bag milk chocolate chips (I stuck with just milk chocolate and used 2 bags of them instead of 1 of semi and 1 of milk)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat softened butter and peanut butter together in a standing mixer until light and fluffy - a good 4-5 minutes.

2. Add in sugars and eggs. Beat for another 2 minutes. Mixture will appear frothy when it is done.

3. While butter, sugars and eggs are beating together combine dry ingredients in a medium size bowl. Add dry ingredients to the beaten wet ingredients. Mix all together for 1 minute.

4. Next add in chocolate chips and mix just until combined. Scoop out cookie dough onto cookie sheets lined with either parchment paper or Silpat. I used my medium size scoop that I purchased from Pampered Chef.

5. Bake cookies for 8 to 9 minutes - just until they start to crack. The cookies will appear that they need more time to bake but you do NOT want to over bake these cookies. They will continue to bake on the hot cookie sheet after they come out of the oven. I let the cookies sit on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes and then removed them onto a platter.

So yummy! Enjoy!

Happy Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookie Baking!

Apple Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting and the Tate's Bake Shop WINNER

2011-10-22T21:04:00.000-04:00

I am delighted to announce that Michelle Ells is the winner of the Tate's Bake Shop giveaway. Michelle, you have won a fabulous gift of cookies - 3 packages of Dark Chocolate Whole Wheat cookies from Tate's Bake Shop and their cookbook (to add to your collection). Thank you so much Michelle for entering into my giveaway!

And for the rest of you I have a lovely recipe just perfect for the season of Fall - Apple Cinnamon Rolls frosted with none other but Cream Cheese Frosting - super yum! Layers of all things tasty that I associate with the Fall are in these sweet rolls. Once your dough is made and rolled out you will layer it first with a brown sugar cinnamon mixture and then chopped apples sprinkled on top. Simply yummy!

I was delighted with how easy these special cinnamon rolls came together. The dough can actually be made in a bread machine but because I do not own one I made my dough in my Kitchen Aid stand mixer and had great success. If you would like to make your dough in a bread machine just follow the directions from your machine manufacturer as to which ingredients that I share below should be added first. It is my understanding that usually all the wet ingredients/liquids go first followed by the seasonings, the flour and then the yeast placed in a well of the flour.

The recipe originates from a blog that I have recently discovered called, Mrs Happy Home Maker. Such a lovely blog full of mouth watering recipes. Scrumptious main dishes, breakfast foods and of course desserts of all kinds are just some of the delicious recipes that I have found on this blog. Definitely take a moment to take a peak at Mrs. Happy Home Maker. I want to point out that I did not use the original recipe for the frosting, Caramel Cream Cheese Icing but instead made original Cream Cheese Icing. I was missing a key ingredient for the caramel flavor, caramel ice cream topping as to why I didn't make the icing that went along with the original recipe for these rolls.

Apple Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing

(ever so slightly adapted from Mrs. Happy Home Maker)

Dough Ingredients:

1 cup warm milk (I warmed my milk in the microwave for 45-60 seconds to warm it)

2 eggs, room temperature

1/3 cup butter, melted and cooled for a couple of minutes

4 1/2 cups bread flour (AP flour is fine - I used AP flour)

1 tsp salt

2 1/2 tsp regular yeast (if making your dough in bread machine use yeast for bread machines)

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Filling Ingredients:

5 Tbsp butter, softened (original recipe called for a whole stick which I didn't end up using)

1 cup brown sugar

2 1/2 Tbsp ground cinnamon

Apple Filling Ingredients:

4-5 medium sized baking apples, peeled, cored and diced

3 Tbsp butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp cornstarch

*Cream Cheese Icing:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 stick butter, softened

3 cups confectioners sugar, sifted

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

*If you would like to make your icing into a caramel icing add in 5-6 Tbsp of caramel ice cream topping....should be a lovely result of a frosting for these special rolls!

Directions:

1. Make the dough. Warm milk in a medium size heat proof bowl in microwave for about 1 minute (do not get it too hot or the yeast will be killed when added to milk...trust me on this as I have learned the hard way). Sprinkle yeast over milk, let sit for a couple of minutes and then gently stir to combine and set aside. Add flour and salt into large bowl of a Kitchen Aid mixer. Melt butter and set aside for a couple of minutes to cool then pour into flour mixture. Add in slightly beaten eggs and then milk/yeast mixture to the flour mixture. Mix to combine. At this point I switched over to my dough hook. Run mixer for a good 5 minutes until dough comes away from bowl and is shiny in color.

2. Lightly grease a large bowl and then remove dough from mixing bowl into your prepared greased bowl. Cover with a clean damp towel and set in a warm place without any drafts. Allow dough to rise until at least doubled in size - about an hour.

3. Remove dough from bowl onto a lightly floured and allow to rest for 15 minutes before rolling out.

4. While dough is resting make apple filling. In a medium size sauce pan melt 3 Tbsp of butter. Add in diced apples, brown sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring every so often.

Cool apple filling as you prepare the dough for layering of all the yumminess.

5. Roll out rested dough into a large rectangle. Mix together 1 cup brown sugar and 2 1/2 Tbsp ground cinnamon, set aside as you spread 5-6 Tbsp of softened butter over your rectangle of dough....

....and now sprinkle the brown sugar cinnamon mixture over the butter layer....

...and then finally the apple filling....

6. Starting on a long side of the rectangle carefully roll up the dough.

No worries if the filling comes out a little bit as you can just spoon it over the rolls once placed in pan.

7. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Melt 1/2 a stick of butter in a 9x13 baking pan. Remove pan when butter has melted. Cut rolled up dough into 1 1/2 inch slices - place slices in prepared pan. Put any remaining filling on top of rolls in pan.

Pop in oven and bake for 15 minutes - rolls should be lightly browned when they are done.

8. While rolls are baking, make the icing as you will want to frost the rolls while they are still warm. In a large bowl combine cream cheese and butter. Beat together for 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy. Slowly add in sifted powdered sugar along with vanilla extract (and caramel topping if you choose to use it). Beat all together until well combined and smooth - about 2-3 minutes.

9. Spread icing over rolls while they are still warm. Such a lovely sight I tell ya!

Serve and enjoy this delightful treat!

Happy Apple Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese (or Caramel Cream Cheese) Icing Baking!

Before I leave you, here is a picture of my precious oldest daughter and the newest addition to our family.....Mitten the Kitten :-)

A Fall cookie recipe and a COOKIE GIVEAWAY!

2011-10-13T08:30:00.000-04:00

Did you know that the month of October is National Cookie Month?! How fun and yummy! In honor of such a special month I want to share with you a lovely Fall flavored cookie recipe along with a fabulous cookie giveaway from Tate's Bake Shop.

Last December I had the opportunity of receiving a variety of cookies from Tate's along with their wonderful cookbook - as seen here. When I was contacted once again to review one of their newest kind of cookies -Whole Wheat Dark Chocolate Chip - I jumped for joy! Dark Chocolate is one my all time favorite kinds of chocolate. Honestly, I like any kind of chocolate but dark chocolate is pretty special.

Let me tell you when I took my first bite of one of these cookies my eyes feel back into my head with happiness. SO good! The cookies are chewy yet crisp - the best of both worlds. And the taste is perfect - not too sweet with plenty of dark chocolate chips throughout the

cookie.

If you would like THREE (yes, THREE) bags of these cookies along with the Tate's Bake Shop cookbook please feel free to enter this giveaway. You can do so three ways...

1. Leave a comment at the end of this post. Any kind of happy comment is welcome.

2. Follow Tate's Bake Shop on Facebook here (just let me know that you've become a follower of Tate's via another comment below).

3. Become a follower of Baking and Creating with Avril on FB - make sure to leave a comment on my FB page to let me know you are one of my newest followers.

That's THREE opportunities to win this giveaway! You can do it!

Winner will be chosen this coming Sunday evening (10.16.11) - all entries must be received by 12 noon on Sunday. Winner will be announced Sunday night. I can't wait to find out who the winner is!

AND the good news is that everyone that reads this post can go over to Tate's e-bakery and order anything they would like with a 15% off discount for the remainder of the month of October. Just enter "COOKIE" at checkout.

SAWEET! :-)

Now I get to share with you the fun Fall cookie recipe I recently made. This cookie recipe would be a great treat for kids, especially for an after school snack as these cookies are super easy to make and bake in a jiffy!

Apple Cinnamon Chip Cookies

(recipe slightly adapted from So Domesticated)

Ingredients:

2 Granny Smith apples (or any kind of baking apple), peeled and chopped

1 tsp lemon juice - keeps the chopped apples from browning

3 cups Bisquick

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 cup half and half (I used 2% milk instead with success)

1 egg

1 cup cinnamon chips (I added this to the original recipe)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or lightly spray with non-stick baking oil.

2. Peel and chop apples into small pieces. Place apples in a bowl and toss with lemon juice. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl mix together Bisquick, both sugars and ground cinnamon. Set aside.

4.Whisk together half and half (or milk) and egg. Pour into Bisquick mixture and stir to combine.

5. Add in chopped apples and cinnamon chips. Stir to combine.

6. With a medium ice cream scoop, drop dollops of cookie batter onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Makes a good 2 dozen cookies. Store cookies covered in a tightly sealed container.

Enjoy!

Happy Apple Cinnamon Chip Cookie Baking!

And good luck with the Tate's Bake Shop giveaway! :-)

Super EASY and Super YUMMY Chicken Chili

2011-10-05T20:47:00.000-04:00

Recently as I was browsing through one of my favorite food sites, Tasty Kitchen, I came up upon a lovely recipe for Chicken Chili. The list of ingredients were very simple (all of which I had on hand) and it was put together in a crock pot. I was sold! Simple ingredients, easy prep and slow cooker friendly - I couldn't ask for anything better.

I altered the original recipe from TK member, forevernowandthen, in a couple of places. The original recipe called for a large (16 oz.) jar of salsa of which I didn't have so I used a small jar of salsa and a can of Rotel tomatoes. The original recipe also called for 2 cans of white beans - I only had 1 can of white beans so I added a can of light kidney beans. I have to say my alterations resulted in a very yummy meal.

Chicken Chili

(recipe altered from Forever Now and Then )

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs boneless and skinless chicken, diced and cooked

1 jar (16 oz.) salsa (I used a small jar of salsa and 1 can Rotel tomatoes)

1 1/2 lbs Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded (you could easily use a combo of Monterey and Cheddar cheese instead of all Monterey)

2 cans (15 oz. each) white beans (I used 1 can white beans and 1 can light kidney beans)

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients (cooked chicken, salsa, cheese, beans) in crock pot and stir well to combine.

2. Cook on low for 2-3 hours. Stir one about half way through the cooking period.

Serve with tortilla chips and a dollop of sour cream (if you wish). Enjoy!

Happy Chicken Chili Making!

Apple Crumble Pie Muffins

2011-09-29T07:04:00.003-04:00

Fall has arrived and I am totally embracing the season by baking as much as I can with apples. Watch out because I have a bunch of apple recipes coming your way in the next couple of weeks.

Here is a little picture of our first apple picking outing of the season this year....so much fun but TONS of mosquitoes nagged at us as we picked. I seriously have no patience for mosquitoes (especially when they bite my kiddos!!!). Rrrrrrr!!!

One of the first things I made with the apples we picked that day was a lovely batch of muffins called, Apple Crumble Pie Muffins. Seriously, seriously good muffins is produced by this recipe. And yes, the muffins do remind me of apple pie as they are packed full of chopped apples, cinnamon goodness and a perfect crumble topping. Best of all they are super easy and quick to make. The longest part of this recipe is the peeling, coring and chopping of the apples.

The original recipe suggested making regular size muffins but I choose to make the muffins in my jumbo size muffin tins. I was able to make 9 jumbo muffins out of the batter.

Apple Crumble Pie Muffins

(recipe was found on This and That - lots of fun recipes found throughout this blog)

Crumb Topping Ingredients:

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup flour

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Muffin Batter Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

2/3 cup veggie or canola oil

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk (I made my own by squirting in a couple tsp's of lemon juice into the milk and letting it sit for a couple of minutes)

2 1/2 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups peeled and diced apples

Directions:

1. Prepare topping by combining all crumb ingredients in a medium size bowl. Set aside as you make the muffin batter.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare muffin batter by taking a large bowl and whisking together brown sugar, oil, egg, vanilla extract and buttermilk all together until smooth.

3. In a separate bowl sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Add sifted flour mixture into wet mixture.

4. Fold in diced apples - mix just to combine....you don't want to over mix batter as your muffins will have a tough consistency if over mixed.

5. Grease muffin tins or line with muffin cups. Fill 2/3's of the way up. Sprinkle muffin batter cups with crumb topping. Pop in oven and bake for 25-30 minutes (time maybe less if making regular size muffins). You will know that the muffins are done when they are golden brown and tops will spring back when touched.

I know you will enjoy these muffins!

Happy Apple Crumble Pie Muffin Baking!

Brrrrrookies - THE bar to make :-)

2011-09-22T21:20:00.000-04:00

Today I am sharing with you a bar recipe that will seriously...Change. Your. World. I'm reaching out particularly to those of you that enjoy a good brownie. I am also reaching out to those of you that enjoy a good chocolate chip cookie. For those of you that enjoy BOTH brownies and cc cookies hold onto your hats because this treat of a recipe has BOTH of them in it....thus the name BROOKIE comes alive.

Oh yeah....first you have a layer of brownie and then a layer of chocolate chip cookies together they become a union of sinfully delicious yumminess.

How in the world can you resist such a treat like this?!? Unless you don't like chocolate....there are a few of you out there in the world (which is totally fine, more chocolate for me!).

Brookies

(This fabulous recipe was found @ Shugary Sweets)

Brownie Layer Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3 eggs

3/4 cups butter, melted

1 cup semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips

Cookie Layer Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter flavored Crisco (butter can be substituted if need be)

1 1/4 cup brown sugar

1 Tbsp real vanilla extract

2 Tbsp milk

1 egg

1 3/4 cup flour

1 tsp salt

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 1/2 cup semi-sweet or milk chocolate chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Line a 9x13 baking pan with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Make brownie layer by combining ALL "brownie ingredients" in a large bowl. Mix until just combined. Pour brownie batter into prepared pan.

3. Make cookie layer by beating Crisco and brown sugar together until well combined. Add in vanilla extract, milk and egg. Slowly add in flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Once all dry ingredients are combined to the wet stir in chocolate chips.

4. Drop cookie dough batter by the spoonful (I used a small ice cream scoop) evenly over brownie batter layer....

5. Pop in oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until brownie edges have come away from the edge of the baking pan.

Cool completely before cutting into squares. Putting the pan of Brookies in the refrigerator is a great way to speed up the process as recommended by Aimee.

SOOOOO good!!! And just a little FYI, a small piece of this treat will make your eyes roll back in your head. BIG pieces are optional. ;-)

Happy Brookie Baking!

Mini Carrot Peach Loaves

2011-09-15T15:05:00.000-04:00

Sometimes it is fun to drop off a special treat to a friend....for no reason at all other than a gesture to show that we care and that we were thinking of them. Not only do I enjoy bringing a special smile to someone's face over an unexpected treat but it also helps me NOT eat so much of the baked goodies that I seem to produce quite often - yes, I admit I have a serious problem...I LOVE to bake!!! Shhhhh....don't tell anyone, that doesn't already know. ;-)

Recently after making a batch of Mini Carrot Peach Loaves my oldest daughter and I piled into the car and delivered the treats to a couple of special people in our lives.

We tied cute and colorful ribbons around the mini breads (another problem of mine...I just ADORE anything mini...and ribbon too!-I have a special place in my heart for ribbon.) and away we went. The breads were a hit! The flavors of carrot and peach matched well with one another that was accented with just a touch of cinnamon. The texture and taste of the sweet bread was perfectly moist and with just enough sweetness to allow it to be eaten for breakfast, snack or even dessert. Warmed with a layer of butter was also reported to cause great happiness to our friend's taste buds. Can you blame them?! Butter = YUM!

Because of my love for anything mini I choose to make this recipe into 4 mini loaves....

....but of course you can just as easily just pour the batter into 1 regular size 9x5 bread loaf pan and be just as successful with this recipe.

Mini Carrot Peach Loaves

(recipe is from Ryan Bakes - Ryan has super yummy recipes on her blog!)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup pecans, chopped (optional)

2 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1 1/2 cups peeled and chopped fresh, ripe peaches

3/4 cup freshly grated carrots

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup milk

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 4 mini loaf pans or 1 regular loaf pan. If you choose to use pecans place nuts in a single layer in a shallow pan and bake for 8-10 minutes or until toasted and fragrant. Stir halfway through baking. Cool nuts 15 minutes before adding to the recipe.

2. In a large bowl stir together flour, sugar, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add in peaches, carrots, oil, milk, beaten eggs, vanilla extract and toasted pecans. Stir just until dry ingredients are moistened - do NOT overmix as bread will become tough if overmixed.

3. Spoon batter into prepared pan(s) and pop into oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes for mini loaves, 1 hr - 1 hr and 10 minutes for regular size loaf or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in pan before removing.

Happy Mini Carrot Peach Loaves Baking!

p.s. This week my oldest daughter entered into Kindergarten. We are SO proud of her for her happiness, braveness and willingness to learn new and exciting knowledge from school. Below is a picture of her coming off the bus from her first day of school ...

Hello there Kindergartener!!!

Baked Parmesan Garlic Chicken

2011-09-08T23:07:00.000-04:00

Chicken is often my main ingredient when it comes to my dinner time meals. Sometimes I will incorporate it in a casserole, other times I will marinate it and then grill it. Baking chicken is yet another way I will prepare it. None the less I am always looking for new, quick and delicious ways to prepare my chicken.

Recently on Mommy's Kitchen (LOVE Tina's blog!!) I entered a giveaway for a cookbook called, 101 Hearty RECIPES from Gooseberry Patch. Because I couldn't wait for the winner to be announced a couple weeks later (and because I was desperate for some new dinner recipes) I ordered the book on amazon.com right away. 30 hours later the cookbook was delivered to my door. I was a HAPPY girl! Right away I started looking through the cookbook, tagging recipes that I wanted to make ASAP. One of the first recipes that I came upon was Parmesan Garlic Chicken. I was sold immediately when I saw that the recipe called for sour cream to be brushed all over the chicken breasts before it was coated in a lovely mixture of seasonings, grated parm cheese and crushed Ritz crackers. YUM! And yes, it sure was YUM! Can't wait for you to enjoy this chicken recipe too!

Garlic Parmesan Chicken

(recipe from 101 Hearty RECIPES)

Ingredients:

1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup sour cream (light sour cream could be easily used in place of regular sour cream)
1/3 cup butter, melted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease 9x13 baking pan.

2. In a shallow bowl (a pie plate would work great) combine crushed crackers, parm cheese, salt and garlic powder.

3. Rinse chicken breasts with water and the pat dry. Coat both sides of chicken with sour cream using a pastry brush.

4. Dredge chicken through seasoned cracker crumb mixture. Place chicken in prepared pan and then drizzle with melted butter.

5. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes or until juices run clear and chicken is golden brown.

Enjoy!

Happy Parmesan Garlic Chicken Baking!

Rustic Blueberry Galette

2011-09-04T21:43:00.000-04:00

Yum. Yum and MORE yum is all I can say about this AMAZING blueberry dessert. I highly recommend you take this recipe and run to the closest kitchen, put on your apron (if you like wearing one when you bake/cook), check your pantry and fridge for the ingredients needed (if necessary go to the store to get what you are missing and then make this recipe. You will NOT be disappointed

This delicious galette is filled with fresh blueberries - the original recipe (which I found at Simply Scratch) called for a mixture of fresh peaches and blueberries. You could use just peaches and omit the blueberries all together. The recipe leaves plenty of room for creativity with fruit for it's filling. The crust that surrounds the fruit is out of this world delicious! Tasty and very easily put together....especially if you use your food processor. I made my crust in the beginning of the day put it in the fridge to get nice and cold and then brought it out of the refrigerator as I prepared the fruit filling for the galette. You don't want to bring the pie crust out of the cold too long before you actually need it for then the butter in the crust will get warm and no longer provide a beautiful flakiness to your pie crust.

One of the best parts of this recipe is that warmed apricot or peach jam is gently brushed over the crust and fruit. The jam provides a lovely sweet flavor that enhances the fruit filling and it gives a beautiful "rustic" color to the galette as it bakes in the oven. That Laurie from Simply Scratch is one smart cookie adding this special touch to her recipe! :-)

Rustic Blueberry Galette
(recipe from Simply Scratch- a beautiful food blog...beautiful!)

Pie Crust Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup AP flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks COLD unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 egg yolk
3 Tbsp milk (original recipe calls for whole milk - I used 2%)
3 Tbsp peach or apricot preserves, warmed (which I warmed in the microwave in a microwave proof measuring cup for 30 seconds)

Filling Ingredients:
4 heaping cups of fresh blueberries (or you can use 3-4 cups sliced fresh peaches and 1 cup fresh blueberries)
2 heaping Tbsp AP flour
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 pinch of salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg (optional)

Pie Crust Directions:

1. In a bowl of a food processor add the flour, sugar and salt - mix to combine.

2. Add in cold butter pieces and pulse until small pea size crumbles appear.

3. In a small bowl combine egg yolk and milk. Pour into food processor and pulse just until combined.

4. Take dough mixture out of food processor and put onto a piece of parchment paper. Form dough into a large disk, wrap parchment paper around it and place in refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes.

Galette Filling Directions:

1. In a large bowl add fruit, flour, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg (if you choose to use it). Gently toss all together.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Take your chilled pie crust out of fridge and carefully roll out into a 1/4" thickness of a circle - about 12" in diameter. Transfer rolled out dough onto a cookie sheet.

3. Pour fruit filling into center of pie crust....

....then carefully fold pie crust over fruit, pleating the crust as you go....

4. Warm jam on top of stove or in microwave. Brush heated jam over all of crust and then drizzle the remaining over fruit filling. Bake in preheated oven for 50-60 minutes - rotate pan half way through the baking time. Cool 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

I served my galette just as it was but next time I have promised myself to serve it with fresh sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Yummy!

Happy Rustic Blueberry Galette Baking!

(Carrie's Famous) Tater Tot Shepard's Pie

2011-08-28T19:10:00.000-04:00

In the beginning of this month I had the pleasure of escaping on vacation with a group of dear friends of mine for a whole week to Cape Cod. We were all of 15 - 9 women and 7 children (ages 7 months - 9 years old) in one lovely house over looking the water.....

We enjoyed one sunset after another...each one more beautiful and full of magic than the one before.

Watching the sun set each evening was just one of the many highlights of our vacation. FOOD...absolutely scrumptious food was a huge part of our vacation too. Making sure those kiddos were well fueled for all their swimming and low-tide adventures was very important. Carrie, as seen below with her adorable little doggie named, Saki ....

....made 3 scrumptious, kid-friendly casseroles that were gobbled down with happiness by all. One of the three casseroles that she made was a Tater Tot Shepard's Pie. It was SO good! When we came home from vacation it was one of the first meals I made for my family. They loved it as I know you guys will too.

(Carrie's Famous) Tater Tot Shepard's Pie

Ingredients:

1 1/2 ground beef or turkey

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp ground pepper

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 can cream of corn

1 can sweet corn, drained

1-2 cups grated cheddar cheese

1 bag frozen Tater Tots

Directions:

1. Over medium heat saute chopped onion until soft. Add in ground meat and cook to brown. Turn off heat and then drain grease. Stir in garlic salt, ground pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Pour meat mixture into a 9x13 baking dish.

2. Over ground meat mixture layer spoon can of creamed corn and drained can of sweet corn. Sprinkle a layer of grated cheese over corn.

3. Layer frozen tater tots over grated cheese.....

....and then sprinkle with more cheese to finish it off. Pop into preheated 350 degrees oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes (check after 20 minutes to make sure casserole is not getting too brown).

Serve up some yumminess!

Happy Tater Tot Shepard's Pie Baking!

Super Yummy Banana Crumble Cake

2011-08-21T12:20:00.000-04:00

I know...not another recipe made with bananas! - sorry but I just have to share this one with all of you because it is SUPER yummy and full of delicious and fun ingredients. White chocolate chips, sour cream, pecans (or chopped nuts of your choice) and of course, ripe bananas are just a couple of mouth watering characters that come together to make this cake. And it's not a small cake either. It feeds a crowd. It's a great cake to make to bring to a pot luck or any event that you want to share with others.

Banana Crumb Cake

(recipe from Julie's Eats & Treats...goodness this blog is a gold mine of wonderful recipes!)

Ingredients:

2/3 cup pecans (the original recipe asked for silvered almonds)

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

2/3 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

3/4 tsp vanilla extract (if you choose to use the silvered almonds you could do almond extract instead of the vanilla)

3 cups AP flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

2 cups mashed ripe bananas (3-4 bananas)

1 cup sour cream

1 cup vanilla or white chocolate chips (YUMMY!)

Directions:

1. In small bowl, combine pecans and brown sugar for the topping. Set bowl aside for later.

2. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add in vanilla extract.

3. In yet another bowl combine flour, baking soda and baking powder. Add these dry ingredients alternately with the mashed bananas and sour cream to the creamed mixture of butter/sugar/eggs/etc.

4. Fold in the vanilla chocolate chips to the batter.

5. Spread batter into a greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle reserved topping mixture over batter. Pop into a preheated 350 degrees oven for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean.

Cool slightly and serve.....

Happy Banana Crumble Cake Baking!

Two flavors of New Hampshire in one muffin

2011-08-01T18:00:00.000-04:00

I am always proud to say that I live in NH. I love that not only does my state have direct access to the ocean but also to the majestic White Mountains. The best of both worlds.

Yes, NH has long, WHITE and cold winters but also has a soft and precious (sometime very wet) season of spring that is followed by a HOT and humid summer which then leads into a spectacular season of fall with colors of reds, oranges and yellows. NH is blessed with four seasons....some are easier than others...but usually we can find beauty and happiness at some point in all of them.

Another special part of NH is what is grown and produced within our state. Berries of many kinds are grown and cultivated in abundance. In the dead of winter I will start counting down the days as to when the first day of berry picking will begin. I live for berry picking! - in particular blueberry picking. Strawberries are wonderful to pick but the duration of blueberry picking seems to last longer than the quick 2-3 week season of strawberries. Another speciality flavor of NH is maple syrup. Pure maple syrup is like gold in my eyes. Its sweetness not only exists in its flavor but also in how it is produced. Long hours of gathering the sap from the maple trees which is then followed by even longer hours of boiling down the sap is what makes maple syrup come alive. What a gift PURE NH maple syrup is!

In my discovery of this muffin recipe I rejoiced that it combined two of my most favorite ingredients in the whole world...blueberries and the flavor of maple syrup. And let me tell you my happiness was not in vain as the muffins came out AMAZINGLY delicous. Delicous I say! Thank you RECIPE girl for sharing this recipe. Thank you VERY much.

Blueberry Maple Muffins

(recipe from the fabulous blog, recipegirl.com)

Ingredients:

2 cups AP flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup plain yogurt (I used greek yogurt)

3/4 cup sugar

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

2 large eggs, at room temp

1/2 tsp maple extract

2 Tbsp AP flour (for tossing over the blueberries)

2 Tbsp sugar (also for tossing into the blueberries)

1 cup fresh blueberries (I am sure frozen blueberries could be used if you don't have fresh)

Directions:

1. Spray a 12 cup muffin tin (although my batter gave me a "bakers dozen" of muffins) with non-stick spray. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.

3. In a medium bowl combine yogurt, 3/4 cup sugar, melted butter, eggs and maple flavoring.

4. In a third bowl combine blueberries with 2 Tbsps flour and 2 Tbsps sugar - toss gently to coat berries.

5. Combine dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. Do NOT over mix...batter will be lumpy. Mix just until flour is barely visible. Add in blueberries, gently.

6. Scoop batter into prepared muffin tins. An ice cream scoop works great for this step.

7. Bake 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle of a muffin comes out clean. Allow the muffins to sit for 5 minutes before removing from pan and ~~goobling up~~ serving.

Happy Blueberry Maple Muffin Baking!

p.s. NH is a great place to live if you are looking to relocate.... ;-)

Loving my A/C and the combo of Pineapple and Zucchini

2011-07-23T15:52:00.000-04:00

The weather has been EXTREMELY HOT this past week here in Southern NH. Temps have been in the high 90's to low 100's. Usually for the month of July we have temps in the high 70's to 80's sometimes the 90's but hardly ever in the 100's. Believe it or not I have baked more this past week than I have for the whole month of July. What is wrong with me?!

Through all my time baking this past week I have developed a very strong relationship with my A/C inside my house. Each time I have turned on the oven to pre-heat I bless and praise my A/C for its beautiful cool air it is providing us as it competes with the heat of the oven.

Just as I have shown appreciation and happiness to my air conditioner I have also grown to love the brilliant idea that combining pineapple with zucchini to make a quick and yummy bread is fabulously d'lish. Oh. My. Yumminess. What a LOVELY pair these two make. The taste and texture of them together marry wonderfully into a quick sweet bread. I don't know why I haven't seen such a concept until now. Have I been totally out of the loop not having the knowledge that by adding pineapple to a zucchini bread recipe is not that unusual? For those of you that have yet to see this amazing kind of recipe before definitely join me in stirring up a batch.

Not to worry this recipe makes TWO lovely loaves of bread - share one with others or plan ahead and freeze it for that perfect occasion that calls for a zucchini and pineapple bread.

Pineapple Zucchini Bread

(recipe discovered on Tasty Kitchen from member, sns717)

Ingredients:

3 whole eggs

1 cup oil (I used canola oil)

2 cups sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups zucchini, shredded

small can of chunk pineapple - I cut my chunk pineapple into 4ths (the original recipe call for crushed pineapple)

3 cups AP flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

3/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1 cup chopped walnuts, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 9x5 bread loaf pans and set aside.

2. In a large bowl beat eggs to blend. Add in oil, sugar and vanilla extract. Beat all together for a couple of minutes until mixture becomes thick and creamy.

3. Next add in shredded zucchini, pineapple, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, spices and nuts (if you wish).

4. Divide batter into two prepared pans. Pop in oven and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool breads for 10 minutes before removing from pans to cool completely.

Yumminess!

For all of you enjoying this HOT weather, stay cool!

Happy Pineapple Zucchini Bread Baking!

FRESH Berry White Chocolate Streusel Bars

2011-06-25T14:17:00.000-04:00

I LOVE to bake. Yes I do. I also LOVE any kind of FRESH berry - strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries...they all make me happy. When I have the opportunity to bake with berries I can't tell you how happy it makes me! VERY happy. VERY, VERY happy.

That being said grab some berries and bake these bars! If you only have one kind of berry that's fine as the original recipe only called for strawberries. I just couldn't resist making these bars with all the berries I had on hand instead of just sticking with just the strawberries.

What was really fun is that my alteration of this recipe created a RED, WHITE and BLUE dessert bar just in time for the up and coming July 4th holiday. AND because this recipe makes such a large amount you can take this bars to a couple of BBQ's and still have enough for a stash to keep at home. :-)

Fresh Berry White Chocolate Streusel Bars
(recipe adapted from, Recipes from my Mom - a beautiful food blog that touches my heart and makes my mouth water )

Ingredients:

2 cups oats
1 1/2 cups AP flour
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup COLD butter, cut into small pieces
4 oz. fluid strawberry jam
1 tsp lemon zest
2 cups FRESH berries (chop or slice strawberries if you use them)
3 oz. fluid white chocolate (I used white chocolate bark that I melted in the microwave)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl whisk together oats, flour, both sugars, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

2. Add in COLD butter that has been cut into small pieces. Combine into dry ingredients either with your hands or a pastry cutter until butter is well incorporated as little crumbles. Remove 1 cup of mixture and with remaining mixture carefully pour into a 15x10 jellyroll pan/cookie sheet. Press mixture into pan to create an even crust.

3. Place in oven and bake for 12-13 minutes or until it is firm to the touch. You do NOT want to brown this layer. Remove from oven.

4. Warm jam in microwave for 30 seconds. Add in lemon zest and then pour over warm crust.

5. Spread berries over jam layer and then sprinkle with reserved 1 cup crumb mixture.

Pop into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until topping is a light brown. Remove from oven and let cool 1 hour before drizzling with melted white chocolate.

Cut into bars and then melt with happiness as you bite into one of these yummy treasures you just created.

My goodness these little treats are yummy if I do say so myself! :-)

Happy FRESH Berry White Chocolate Streusel Bars Baking!

Banana Split Dessert

2011-06-14T22:21:00.000-04:00

Such a great dessert we have going on here. FULL of good layers of creamy and fruity yumminess. The foundation of this dessert is made up of crushed cookies and then is built up with a creamy sweetened cream cheese layer followed up by a layer of crushed pineapple then sliced bananas, a smooth and decadent vanilla pudding layer, finalized with fluffy sweetened whipped cream which is garnished with chopped nuts and toffee bits. So good. SO GOOD!!!

Banana Split Dessert

(recipe comes from Butter and Oven Mitts)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Nilla Wafer cookies - crushed finely

1 1/4 cup sugar - divided

1/3 cup butter - melted

16 oz. cream cheese - at room temperature

28 oz. crushed pineapple - well drained (reserve a little bit of juice for brushing over sliced banana layer)

4 whole bananas

2 cups milk

1 large box instant vanilla pudding

2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup powdered sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts...your choice)

1/4 cup toffee bits

marachino cherries (with or without stems)

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl combine crushed cookies, melted butter and 1/4 cup sugar. Press cookie crumb mixture into bottom of 9x13 pan. Set aside.

2. Beat together cream cheese and remaining 1 cup sugar. Beat together until light and fluffy then gently spread over cookie crumb layer.

3. Next spread the crushed (and WELL drained) pineapple over cream cheese layer.

....and then top with sliced bananas...

To avoid bananas from getting brown you can brush the tops of them with reserved pineapple juice.

4. In a medium bowl beat together milk and pudding mixture until thickened. Set aside.

5. In (yet another) bowl combine heavy cream, vanilla extract and powdered sugar and beat until soft peaks form. Take 1 cup of whipped cream and gently fold into pudding mixture. Layer over sliced bananas.....

6. Spread remaining whipped cream mixture over pudding mixture and then garnish with chopped nuts and toffee bits. YUM!

Chill for a couple of hours and then top off with marachino cherries (and mini American flags too if you want) just before serving.

Hello there yumminess. Goodness to you look WONDERFULLY edible!

Happy Banana Split Dessert Making!

Cauliflower and Broccoli Salad

2011-06-09T21:59:00.001-04:00

Ahhh the beauty of summer has arrived. HOT days filled with trips to a near by beach, ice cream cones, the smell of sunscreen (and bug spray) along with BBQ's with good friends all make summer-time so special.

Yes, I am a lover of summer. Another thing I love to do (as many of my friends know) is talk about food. I LOVE to discover new recipes that friends have made. And I especially LOVE it when they pass on those recipes to me. There are some people out there that do not like to share their recipes...which I feel is a crime! - but that's just my feeling on that issue. I honestly think that it is one of the highest forms of a compliment when someone requests a recipe of mine. I always feel flattered that someone enjoyed the dish or baked goodie that I made and shared with them enough to want to eat it again AND to make it themselves. Enough said. I think you get my point.

Needless to say whenever my friend Diane and I see each other (especially just after the weekend) we most often chat about food and what we have made over the weekend or in the past. Diane always surprises me with something wonderful. Recently she passed along a lovely recipe for Cauliflower and Broccoli Salad. As soon as she started listing off all the yummy ingredients of this salad I knew I had to make it. Fresh broccoli and cauliflower...YES....chopped red onion...oh yeah!...crumbled feta cheese...for sure!...diced grape tomatoes...absolutely!....all tossed with a lovely dressing (that I thought I had ALL the ingredients for...not so much). With all those yummy characters in mind I would like to share with you today my version of Diane's Cauliflower and Broccoli Salad. I will also provide you with the original ingredients that are in Diane's salad...you know the ingredients that I didn't have on hand....;-)

Cauliflower and Broccoli Salad

(many thanks Diane for passing along this recipe to me)

1/2 head of cauliflower - chopped up into bite size pieces

1-2 good size bunches of broccoli - chopped up into bite size pieces

1/2 red onion - chopped

1 heaping cup grape tomatoes - cut into quarters

2-4 oz. feta cheese - crumbled

1 dry packet of Italian dressing (this is where I changed up Diane's recipe for lack of dry RANCH dressing on hand)

2 Tbsp water

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar (Diane's recipe called for red rice vinegar)

1/2 cup olive oil (canola oil could be used in substitution)

Directions:

1. Place cut up cauliflower and broccoli into a large bowl. Add in chopped red onion and quartered tomatoes. Set aside.

2. Make dressing by combining dry salad dressing mix, oil, vinegar and water in a jar that can be covered tightly with a lid. Once lid is securely place on jar shake for a minute or two until well combined. Pour dressing over veggies and toss gently to coat. Fold in feta cheese.

3. Refrigerate salad for a good hour (if not longer if possible). All the flavors of the dressing will melt into the veggies as it hangs out in the fridge.

Serve with happiness!

Of course you could always add in any of your favorite veggies to this refreshing summer salad. Red peppers, cucumbers or black olives are a few additions that come to mind. Go ahead be daring and toss in different veggies.

Happy Cauliflower and Broccoli Salad Making!

Sweet and Tart Rhubarb Cake

2011-06-01T21:29:00.002-04:00

I am delighted to report that I am now officially an owner of a rhubarb plant! Yes, for years now I have been wanting my very own rhubarb patch. Many of my friends have offered me a snippet of their patch as rhubarb very easily transplanted but for some reason I never got my act together and took them up on their offer. A couple weeks ago Jeff came home with a couple of plants from a friend's garden and guess what, rhubarb was one of them! Happiness, I will now have my very own rhubarb patch next year!

So quick, go grab some rhubarb that may be still left in your garden or in the grocery store and make this cake. I love this recipe for not only is it packed with tart rhubarb (which is shredded rather than cut into small chunks) and a good helping of cinnamon but it also calls for 1/2 cup of yogurt. In all my baking experience whenever a recipe includes yogurt in it the end result is always deliciously moist. Needless, to say this cake was indeed moist....which I blame on the yogurt. Originally, plain non-fat yogurt was called for but all I had was Greek vanilla yogurt - the substitution worked out great!

Sweet and Tart Rhubarb Cake

(recipe slightly adapted from Confessions of a Bakeaholic - gorgeous and scrumptious blog!)

Ingredients:

4 stalks of rhubarb - peeled, cut in 1/2 and pull into strips

3 eggs

1 cup canola oil

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 1/2 cups flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

4 tsp cinnamon (yes, this is the correct amount...there is a lot of cinnamon in this cake - adjust if you so wish)

1 dash ground nutmeg

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup plain or vanilla yogurt (I used vanilla Greek yogurt)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease pan of choice - BUNDT, 9x13 or two loaf pans.

2. Prepare rhubarb by peeling off thin stringy layer, then cutting stalks into 5-6" pieces and then peeling into strips (as seen in picture above).

3. In a large bowl beat together eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla extract. Slowly add in dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg. Combine thoroughly.

4. Add in prepared rhubarb and yogurt - stirring until well combined.

5. Pour cake batter into prepared cake pan of choice. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool at least 10 minutes in pan before removing to serving platter.

*I served this cake without frosting but of course if you would like to kick it up a notch, frost it with your favorite Cream Cheese Frosting....super yum! You could also add in a cup of cut up strawberries to the cake batter as another variation on this recipe.

Happy Sweet and Tart Rhubarb Cake Baking!

BUNDT Cake MAGIC

2011-05-27T07:59:00.000-04:00

BUNDT cakes are fabulous in my world. They are lovely to look at, always yummy to eat and made in jiffy. And you know what else I like about BUNDT cakes? - I like the way the word BUNDT cake sounds. It's just fun to say. I know, silly me!

Who could ask for anything more in a cake? Well, I guess the only thing I could ask for is MORE BUNDT cake recipes. Got a favorite? Please do share. Pretty, pretty please.

In my effort to share with you a wonderful BUNDT cake recipe I thought I would show and tell you all about a Root Beer Float BUNDT Cake. Yes, you heard me right...this is a cake fully flavored with root beer soda. PERFECT to make for this coming season of BBQ's and picnics!

Now, you can stay simple or go fancy with this cake. By simple I mean just sprinkling it with some powdered sugar. To make it fancy you could drizzle the cake with a Root Beer Glaze (recipe shared below). It's your choice 100%. I do have to say that by serving it with a nice scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side really took this cake up a knotch of yumminess. Especially when I served the cake the day after it was baked for then the flavor of the root beer was much more pronounced than the first day.

Root Beer Float BUNDT Cake

(recipe found on Piece of Cake which was adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking - I can't wait to treat myself to this cookbook!)

Cake Ingredients:

2 cups root beer

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 cup AP flour

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 large eggs

Glaze Ingredients:

2 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup root beer

3 Tbsp unsalted butter, VERY soft

Cake Directions:

1. Position an oven rack to the lower 1/3 of the oven. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 10" BUNDT pan generously with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In a medium saucepan combine root beer, cocoa powder and butter. Cook over medium and stir often. Once butter is melted whisk in sugars until well combined. Turn off heat and set aside mixture to cool.

3. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.

4. Lightly beat the eggs in a small bowl and then whisk them into the cooled root beer/cocoa powder mixture. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour root beer/cocoa powder/egg mixture right into the middle of it. Mix all together until just combined. Batter will be slightly lumpy.

5. Pour batter into prepared BUNDT pan. Place in oven and bake for 45-50 minutes. Let cake cool for at least 30 minutes in pan before inverting to a serving platter. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or make Root Beer Glaze.

Root Beer Glaze Directions:

1. In a medium bowl wisk together powdered sugar, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla extract and 1/4 cup root beer.

2. Add in VERY soft butter and mix until smooth. Add in a little bit more of root beer if you find that the glaze needs to be thinned out for a better spreadable consistency (you don't want it to be too runny). Spoon glaze over cake and let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

Keep cake at room temperature covered or refrigerate (it lasts longer if refrigerated).

Enjoy!

Happy Root Beer Float BUNDT Cake Baking!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

2011-05-19T15:57:00.000-04:00

I like chewy cookies. I like oatmeal. I also like peanut butter. AND I even like raisins! Some people don't like any of these foods mentioned above (how can you NOT like cookies?!...I mean really!). Some people only like one of said foods from above and well, some people don't like the combination of oatmeal, peanut butter and raisins put together. And that's just fine. But, if you are into having a chewy and healthy cookie that fills you up and can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner than this cookie recipe is for you. Yes, YOU!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

(recipe slightly adapted from Heather on Tasty Kitchen)

Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar, packed

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 cup peanut butter (I used smooth)

4 cups oatmeal

1 cup raisins

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Cream together softened butter and sugars. Add in eggs and vanilla extract - mix until well combined.

3. Add in remaining ingredients to the butter/sugar/egg/vanilla extract mixture.

4. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or Silpat. Scoop out cookie dough with desired size scoop (I used a small and medium scoop from Pampered Chef).

5. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until cookies are done. Allow cookies to sit on cookie sheets for a couple of minutes before removing.

Store in an air-tight container with a nice piece of soft bread (which helps the cookies stay soft and chewy).

Enjoy!!!

Happy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Baking!

Baked Mac and Cheese

2011-05-15T21:23:00.000-04:00

My goodness it has been a long time since the last time I posted a recipe!! WAAAY too long! I am hiding my head in shame....but honestly my excuse is only because life has simply grabbed ahold of me and wouldn't let me deviate from taking care of my kiddios by making sure they were feed, cleaned and most importantly HAPPY! I have often looked at my computer longingly , wishing to sit down in front of it and type out a blog post but then I suddenly get pulled in another direction and then yet another day goes by without a blog post. I know you guys get it. I'm sure you totally get it as the very same thing happens to many of you mommas or not. But most importantly know that I've missed all of you! - my dear and precious followers and fellow bloggers. I've so missed you!

Anyway, upward and onward with my recipe today that I wish to share with all of you...Baked Mac and Cheese!!!! Like Chocolate Chip cookies I am always looking for a new and super yum recipe for Mac n Cheese. I make it often (from the box and from scratch) so it's fun to switch it up a bit and make a different recipe every once and awhile from the one I use most often.

This recipe is great. Full of good cheese, a dab of sour cream and even a couple eggs and viola the magic of pasta and cheese come together to form a lovely dish of Mac and Cheese. The credit of this recipe goes to the fabulous Tina of Mommy's Kitchen who found the recipe from the good ole adorable Deen Brothers (Paula must be SO proud of them!!!).

Baked Mac and Cheese

(recipe found on Mommy's Kitchen from the Deen Brothers cookbook, Recipes From the Road)

Ingredients:

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni (or small pasta of your choice)

4 cups shredded cheese - I used a mixture of Colby Jack and Cheddar (yummy combo!!)

1 cup milk - whole milk is suggested, I used 2% and it was great

1/2 cup sour cream

2 eggs

1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1/2 tsp salt

dash of hot sauce - optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 baking dish - set aside.

2. Cook pasta according to directions on package. Drain pasta and return to pot that it was cooked in.

3. While pasta is still HOT add in the cheeses and stir well to combine. Spread pasta and cheese mixture into prepared baking dish.

4. Whisk together milk, sour cream, eggs, butter pieces, salt and hot sauce (if you are using it) in a medium bowl. Pour mixture over macaroni and cheese.

5. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown and bubble good. Let stand out of oven for 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!!!

Happy Baked Mac and Cheese!

Chewy M and M Cookies (with a surprise ingredient)

2011-04-22T19:21:00.000-04:00

I caught your attention when I said "SURPRISE" didn't I? I sure hope I did! Surprises are one of my most FAVORITE things in life to give and to receive. :-) Hopefully, many of you will be surprised with this ingredient in these cookies as I have never seen such an ingredient in cookies before. The surprise ingredient is BREAD FLOUR. What do you think? Was that a surprise? Well, whether it was or not you have got to try this recipe....especially if you like cookies that are chewy on the inside and crisp on the outside along with a perfect not overly sweet taste. You will not be disappointed with this cookie recipe.

As you can see in the above picture I choose to use Spring M and M's to gently stir into my cookie batter. Of course good old fashioned chocolate chips can be easily substituted for the M and M's.

Chewy M and M Cookies

(recipe comes from Delightfully Dowling....a blog full of drool worthy recipes)

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, melted

2 1/4 cup bread flour (Hello, surprise ingredient)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 sugar

1 1/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg + 1 egg yolk

2 Tbs milk

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups M and M's (or chocolate chips)

Directions:

1. In a large bowl sift together flour, salt and baking soda. Set flour mixture aside.

2. Cream together melted butter, white and brown sugar on medium speed for a couple minutes. Then add whole egg and egg yolk along with milk and vanilla extract. Mix all together until well combined.

3. Chill dough for at least an hour. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or Silpat liner. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Scoop cookie dough into nice balls with a medium size ice cream scoop onto cookie sheets and then place in oven (I like to bake my cookies one cookie shee at a time) and bake for 11-12 minutes.

4. Cool cookies and store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

Mr. Chicky sure did!!! ;-)

Happy Chewy M and M Cookie Baking!

PB Marshmallow Brownies (with HONOR and compliments)

2011-04-20T16:06:00.000-04:00

Don't you just love giving someone a compliment? To see their face light up with happiness or a soft blush come over their cheeks is always so rewarding to me. Unfortunately for many (including myself) it is often easier to give a compliment than to receive one. I work hard on accepting compliments with grace and appreciation even though it may make me feel uncomfortable. It's just one of those things that I continually have to work on in life....I've accepted it.

Well, not that long ago I received a very BIG compliment. I was asked by a fellow food blogger, the sweet Maranda of Jolts and Jollies to be a guest on her blog. OMGoodness was I so happy that she asked me to do so! I have never been asked to be a guest on someone elses blog before!!! In my humble opinion it is a very HIGH compliment to be asked to write a post on someone else's blog - they are trusting that you will provide the same kind of care, appeal and creativity that they themselves work so hard to provide to their blog followers, family and friends. Needless to say I was over come with honor when Maranda presented me with her proposition. Thank you, thank you Dear Maranda for asking me to be a guest blogger on your precious, delicious and fabulous blog. I enjoyed every minute of it!

Go check out what I wrote up and featured on my guest post on Jolts and Jollies....it sure is YUMMY. And yes, it contains not only peanut butter but also chocolate and marshmallows coming all together in one lovely brownie. Scrumptious to the MAX!

And while you are over at Jolts and Jollies be sure to check Maranda's delicious recipes. You won't be disappointed!

I thought I would leave you today with one of my favorite recent views in life. It just makes me so happy to look at I must say!

Can you guess who it is? Yup....my little Coco-Nut :-)

A Springtime CAKE (make this cake while you are Spring cleaning)

2011-04-03T12:39:00.000-04:00

Oh, Springtime I do so adore thee! I love the fact that soon outside we will have fresh green grass, little baby leaves starting to show their faces on the trees along with bright colored tulips and sunny daffodils. Springtime is full of freshness and new growth that brings me such happiness. It's funny how all of a sudden a new sense of "getting things done" also known as Spring Cleaning gets sparked for me when I feel the reality of all the new growth of life starting to bloom outside.

As I was buzzing around cleaning and tidying up my house the other day I decided to try out a cake recipe that a good friend of mine (Hey, sweet Diane!) had passed along to me last year. It is called Key Lime Cake. A perfect cake that comes together in a jiffy and brings along with it a taste of fresh lime, sweetness and a tender crumb texture. Yum! The perfect Springtime cake. :-)

Key Lime Cake
(recipe can be found on the allrecipes website)

Cake Ingredients:

1 (18.25 oz) package of LEMON cake mix

1 (3 oz) package of instant LEMON pudding mix

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup canola oil

4 eggs

5 Tbsp LIME juice

Glaze Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3 Tbsp LIME juice

LIME zest for garnish (if you wish)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13 pan or a 10" bundt pan.

2. In a large bowl combine cake mix, pudding mix, water, oil, eggs and 5 Tbsp of LIME juice. Mix well all together. Pour batter into your prepared cake pan.

3. Bake for 45 minutes. As cake is baking mix together powdered sugar and 3 Tbsp of LIME juice for your glaze. Pour glaze over still warm cake. Garnish with freshly grated LIME zest.

This cake is lovely served with fresh berries.....ENJOY!

Happy Key Lime Cake Baking!

My NEW Hobby....and Milk and Cookies!!!

2011-03-23T09:54:00.000-04:00

Yes, I have added another hobby to my life.....saving money!!!! That's right I'm now having loads of fun with coupons! Who knew saving money would be SO MUCH FUN!! Well, it is especially FUN when you have a fabulous friend like I do that is SUPER good at it. That friend of mine, Kylah is an expert at it! She has totally mastered the whole concept of couponing. She is guiding me and showing me the "in's and out's" of it all. My goodness there is a whole world of couponing that I had no idea existed. I'm sure many of you are already are involved in this hobby. For those of you that are not and want to get a better idea of what it all means to SAVE $$$ go on over to Kylah's lovely coupon blog called, Crazy'Bout Couponz and check it out.

Now onto one of my other hobbies....baking!!!

There is something so good about cookies and milk. They go together so well! I'm sure many of you like to dip your cookies right into your glass of milk right? Well, these cookies that I am about to share with you are just PERFECT for such a thing. So go ahead and take a few minutes out of your day to make these cookies. Then set aside some time to sit down with these yummy cookies and a nice glass of milk and dip away!

The best part about this great recipe is that it is whipped together super fast! I made it an hour before I had to leave the house for a playdate. I left the house with a plate full of fun cookies and came home with an empty plate as both the kiddos and the mommy's enjoyed them to the fullest! :-)

Cookie Sticks

(recipe from Recipes by Amanda's Cookin)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of canola oil (yes, oil NOT butter is used in these cookie recipe)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Combine oil, white and brown sugar, egg and vanilla extract in a large bowl.

3. In a medium bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add this to the oil/sugar mixture. Divide dough in half.

4. Grease a cookie sheet and place the two 1/2 doughs on the sheet - shape into long rectangles...about 15"x3" in size. Sprinkle chocolate chips over cookie dough rectangles...

Gently press chips into cookie rectangles so you don't risk loosing them....

5. Place in oven and bake for 7-8 minutes (9-10 minutes if you wish your cookies to be crispier). Cool for 5 minutes.

6. With a pizza cutter cut baked cookie rectangles into 4 large pieces - this makes it easier to transfer onto cooling racks.

Cool completely and then cut previously cut sections into 1" strips...

Don't these little cookie sticks just scream for a glass of milk or even a HOT cup of tea to go along side them? :-)

Enjoy!!!

Happy Cookie Sticks Baking!

Coffee Chocolate Chunk Muffins

2011-03-13T21:14:00.000-04:00

Love muffins? How about the flavor of coffee? Or chocolate? Even better how about coffee and chocolate together IN a muffin? YUM right!? Here is a muffin recipe with all that coffee and chocolate yumminess in one place.

In the original recipe for these muffins two sources of coffee flavorings were used - instant coffee granules and coffee flavored liqueur. Because I did not have the instant coffee I used freshly brewed Starbucks coffee along with Kaluha (YUM!) and coffee extract (which I decided to add to the recipe in an extra effort to give the muffins a nice coffee flavoring paired with the chocolate chunks). The coffee flavor in the muffins was good (especially after the muffins sat for day and the flavor was able to really set in) but next time I think I will tweek the recipe further with more coffee flavoring so that the essence of coffee is more pronounced.

Over all this recipe was a hit and I wouldn't be sharing it with all of you Sweetie Pies if I didn't LOVE it myself. You get my drift right?

Coffee Chocolate Chunk Muffins

(recipe was adapted from a food blog called, Diana's Desserts. I have been delighted to find her blog!)

Ingredients:

6 Tbsp butter, softened

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup milk

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 3/4 cup flour

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 Tbsp instant coffee dissolved in 2 Tbsp boiling water

1 Tbsp Kahlua (or another kind of coffee liqueur)

1 tsp coffee flavoring (optional - I had this in my pantry and added it into the batter in attempt to give a full flavor of coffee..which basically worked but next time I think I will add about a 1/2 tsp more of this flavoring)

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks ("chips" would be just fine if you don't have "chunks" on hand

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 6-cup jumbo muffin tin with jumbo cupcake liners.

2. In a large bowl beat together butter and sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, vanilla, dissolved coffee, coffee flavoring and coffee liqueur until well blended.

3. In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture alternately with milk, beating until just combined. Fold in chocolate chunks.

4. Scoop batter into lined muffin pan cups. I used an ice cream scoop to do this which worked great!

5. Bake in preheated oven for 22-25 minutes or until centers spring back when lightly pressed. Just look at these lovely muffins! Man, do they make me happy!

Serve warm or at room temperature with a nice hot beverage of your choice. Enjoy!

Happy Coffee Chocolate Chunk Muffins Baking!

A Goodbye Pie.....A Raspberry Cream Pie at that!

2011-03-05T15:28:00.000-05:00

I hate, HATE, hate goodbyes. There is nothing fun about them. AT ALL. I prefer hellos over goodbyes....don't you?

A couple of weeks ago I had to say goodbye to not one, not two, not three but FOUR people that I adore - my parents, my sister and her sweetie pie. Before I said "goodbye" I invited all of them over for some dinner and dessert. I figured I would be better off doing the deed of saying goodbye on a full tummy. I made a chicken casserole for dinner and then to finish off the meal I served pie. A fabulously EASY and super YUMMY pie. Yes, I made PW's Raspberry Cream Pie.

It was over the top D'LISH! Simple ingredients along with a speedy assembly make this pie a lovely dessert. You can easily make this pie even faster than PW by using a pre-made crust or you can go right ahead and follow her recipe to the "T" and make your own cookie crust.

Want the recipe? Of course you do! :-)

Raspberry Cream Pie
(recipe from The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond at the Tasty Kitchen)

Ingredients:

25 whole Oreo cookies

4 Tbsp butter, melted

1 generous cup fresh raspberries

3 Tbsp sugar

2 containers (6oz. each) raspberry yogurt

1 package (3.4 oz.) instant vanilla pudding mix

1 cup heavy cream or whipping cream

extra raspberries for garnishing

Directions:

1. Make crust....(or purchase a pre-made Oreo crust)....preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place cookies in a food processor and "crush" or place cookies in a Ziploc bag and smash with a rolling pin. Stir in melted butter until well combined. Pour crushed cookie mixture into a regular pie pan and press down all over the pan and up the sides. Bake for 3-4 minutes - just long enough to set. Cool crust completely after baking to set.

2. Make pie filling....pour fresh raspberries into a medium size bowl. Smash them with a fork, then sprinkle with 3 Tbsp of sugar. Stir smashed raspberries and sugar together and then let sit for 15 minutes.

3. In a bowl of a mixer combine raspberry yogurt with the instant vanilla pudding powder. Beat on low for 1 minute. Pour in heavy cream and whip on low for 30 seconds. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Turn mixer on medium-high speed and beat for 2 minutes, or until mixture is thick.

4. Turn off mixer, then fold in fresh raspberries until just combined. Pour this lovely creamy raspberry mixture into COOLED pie pan and spread evenly.

5. Place pie in freezer and freeze for 2 hours, or until very firm. Cut into slices and garnish with fresh raspberries if you wish. ENJOY!.....I know you will. :-)

Happy Raspberry Cream Pie Making!

A Match Made in Heaven - Coffee Heath-Bar Crunch Cake

2011-02-24T18:25:00.001-05:00

I like Coffee and I like Heath Bar baking bits. Put them together and you have a match made in HEAVEN! That's just what The Cake Slice Bakers did this month...we baked a cake sent from Heaven - and I do believe there is a place with just that title, "Cake Heaven". I know when I am in "Cake Heaven" - it is when I sit down with a piece of an amazing cake and a lovely hot mug of tea or coffee and after the first bite of cake and sip of my tea my eyes will roll back in my head as my shoulders relax and my body swarms with happiness all over. This is "Cake Heaven". Have you every experienced this? PLEASE say that you have! If you haven't....well, we just need to make it happen! You can start off by going ahead and making this cake recipe and following my orders to sit down in a comfy chair with your piece of cake and choosen hot beverage to go along with it. You will not regret it.

This cake is similar to a coffee cake in that it has a nice dense texture with a lovely topping of a crumb layer featuring the Heath Bar baking bits. Delightful!

Coffee Heath-Bar Crunch Cake

(recipe from Lauren Chattman's book, Cake Keeper Cakes)

Streusel Ingredients:

1/2 bag Heath Bar baking bits

2 Tbsp light brown sugar, packed

2 Tbsp flour

1 Tbsp butter, softened

Cake Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 Tbsp instant espresso powder (I used instant coffee powder and it worked out just fine)

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup milk

Directions:

1. Make the streusel by combining with a fork the brown sugar, flour and butter in a medium bowl. Toss in Heath Bar baking bits once mixture resembles large crumbs. Set mixture aside in refrigerate until ready to use.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9" round springform pan and set aside.

3. Make cake by combining flour, espresso (or coffee) powder, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.

4. In a large bowl cream together butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy - about 3 minutes on medium-high speed. Scraping down bowl at least once to make sure all ingredients are getting beaten together. With mixer on low speed add in egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract.

5. Add in flour mixture and milk alternately with beater on low speed - beginning and ending with flour mixture.

6. Pour batter into prepared springform pan. Smooth out batter with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle streusel mixture evenly on top of cake batter.

7. Bake cake for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center of cake comes out clean. Cool cake 5 minutes on wire rack and then remove side of pan. Cool, serve and enjoy!

If you want to have something wonderful to do while eating a slice of this cake go check out the rest of The Cake Slice Bakers - what a fabulously talented group of bakers we have here!

Happy Coffee Heath-Bar Crunch Cake Baking!

Banana Bread x 2 = Happiness! :-)

2011-02-16T21:49:00.002-05:00

I just love banana bread! Actually I just LOVE anything baked with bananas. I always get excited when I discover a couple of ripe bananas. This means I get to challenge myself to find a new "banana baked goodie" recipe. I have found wonderful recipes for banana bread. I have also found a fabulous recipe for Banana Coffee Cake. Cupcakes are fun to make too with bananas. Like the Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting I have made. My most recent banana recipe discovery has granted me with TWO great recipes for banana bread. One that show cases the combo of raisins and bananas along with combining white and whole wheat flour in the batter (Banana Raisin Bread) and then the next recipe is SWEET and super pretty with a nice light yellow color of a bread (Buttery Blonde Banana Bread).

Try these two recipes out and let me know which one you liked best. For that fact share with me some of your favorite "banana baked goodie" recipes....I can never have enough!

I liked the Banana Raisin Bread because it was not only full in banana flavor but also had a nice chewy texture. I loved having slices of it with good natural PB...yum! I felt like I was doing my "healthy deed" of the day by eating this bread. :-)

Banana Raisin Bread

(recipe from Cooking During Stolen Moments)

Ingredients:

1/3 cup butter, melted

2/3 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup (2 medium) mashed ripe bananas

3 Tbsp milk

1 cup AP flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 (heaping) cup raisins

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan and set aside.

2. Cream together butter and sugar for 5 minutes. Add in eggs and vanilla extract - mix well all together. Add in mashed bananas and milk - again, mix well all together.

3. In a medium bowl combine flours, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Slowly add in flour mixture to the banana mixture. Stir in raisins.

4. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 55-60 minutes. Cool, slice,serve and enjoy!

*********

The next banana bread recipe is sweeter than the Banana Raisin Bread. It definitely reminds me of a Blonde Brownie as it is has a soft light yellow color and has a wonderfully comforting taste about it similar to such a brownie. All you need is a nice hot cup of tea along side a slice of this bread and you've got a perfect afternoon snack.

Buttery Blonde Banana Bread
(recipe from the fabulous Jaime @ Jaime Cook's it Up!)
Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs, well beaten

1 cup (2-3 bananas) mashed bananas

4 Tbsp buttermilk

1 3/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

dash of baking soda (that's right a dash)

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease 9x5 loaf pan and set aside.

2. Cream together butter and sugar.

3. Add in eggs, mashed bananas, buttermilk and vanilla extract to the creamed butter and sugar.

4. Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl and then add to banana mixture. Mix just until combined - you don't want to overmix this batter.

5. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 55-60 minutes. Cool, slice, serve and ENJOY!

Happy Banana Raisin Bread and Buttery Blonde Banana Bread Baking!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie COFFEE CAKE

2011-02-09T18:35:00.001-05:00

Yes, you read that right.....this is a coffee cake filled with yumminess with all the delicious-ness of an oatmeal raisin cookie. Hands down one of the BEST coffee cakes I have made in a LONG time. Of course it doesn't hurt that I am a sucker for oatmeal raisin cookies along with any type of coffee cake. Put these two sweets together and you have a master piece I tell ya!

There are some recipes that I make and after putting in my time, energy and taste buds towards the finished product I decide not to make the recipe again....and then there are recipes that put me over the edge with happiness with all the applauds of yumminess from myself and those that I share it with. I will definitely be making this recipe again. I recommend it to all of you to do the same. Especially if you are a coffee cake and an oatmeal raisin cookie fan.....it's a LOVELY combination of both.

I also really liked how there was a thick ribbon of cinnamon and brown sugar goodness that ran through the middle of this cake. Raisins and chopped nuts studded the middle of the cake too making it a true oatmeal cookie delight.

Because Valentine's Day is just around the corner I couldn't resist making this coffee cake in a heart shaped pan.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Coffee Cake

(recipe found on the lovely and oh so scrumptious blog, A Whisk and a Prayer)

Cake Ingredients:

2 cups AP flour

2/3 cup oats (regular or quick cooking)

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla extract

Filling/Topping Ingredients:

1/4 cup AP flour

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup butter, cut into small chunks

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

2/3 cup raisins

1/3 cup chopped walnuts (or nut of your choice)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9" round (or heart shaped) spring form pan.

2. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time.

4. Add in 1/3 of flour mixture to the butter/sugar/egg mixture. Then mix in 1/2 the milk, lemon juice and vanilla extract followed by another 1/3 of the flour mixture. End with remaining wet ingredients and then the last of the flour. Set aside as you make the filling/topping.

5. Make the filling/topping - In a medium bowl combine flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Add in 1/4 cup butter chunks. Using the back of a fork or a pastry cutter blend in butter until mixture resembles coarse sand.

6. Pour 1/2 of the cake batter into prepared pan. Then sprinkle 1/2 of the filling/topping mixture. Sprinkle over filling/topping raisins and chopped nuts. Pour remaining cake batter over raisins and chopped nuts. Top everything off with the remaining filling/topping mixture.

7. Place coffee cake into oven and bake for a good 45-50 minutes (my heart shaped cake took almost a full hour to bake), or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cake on a wire rack until it comes to room temperature and then remove sides of spring form pan.

So, so numilcious!!!

Happy Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Coffee Cake Baking!

The Fastest (and YUMMIEST) Chicken Parmesan

2011-02-05T08:02:00.000-05:00

One of my most favorite meals to eat is Chicken Parmesan. Yum....I love the combo of chicken, sauce and cheese - and of course all served on a lovely bed of pasta. Yup, I am now drooling just thinking of this delightful meal. :-)

Recently I discovered a fabulous recipe for Chicken Parm. It is not only fabulous in taste, flavor and yumminess but also in the amount of time it takes to make it. Hands on time is literally minutes...and not a lot of minutes at that! And then you just walk away and let the magic of the crock pot do it's work. Within a couple hours your house is filled with the aroma of comfort and deliciousness that comes from your crock pot.

Honestly, I don't always have good luck with crockpot recipes. Either the dish turns out too dry, too soggy or just tastes terrible over all. Well, believe me this crockpot recipe that I am about to share with you is GREAT! It was a HUGE success and I seriously encourage you to put aside 5 minutes and make it.

Crock Pot Chicken Parmesan

(recipe from A Year of SlowCooking)

Ingredients:

2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

1/2 cup plain bread crumbs (or you can use Italian seasoned bread crumbs and then don't add the Italian seasoning below)

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 egg, beaten

sliced mozzarella cheese (4-6 slices depending on how much you choose to use)

1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce

Directions:

1. Drizzle 1 Tbsp olive oil over the bottom of crockpot stoneware.

2. Beat egg and place in a medium bowl. In a second medium bowl mix the bread crumbs, spices, and grated parmesan cheese all together.

3. Dip chicken in beaten egg and then toss into bread crumb mixture to coat completely on both sides. Place chicken breasts on the bottom of crockpot.

4. Place a layer of mozzarella slices on top of breaded chicken breasts. Cover cheese layered chicken with jar of sauce.

5. Place lid of crockpot securely on and turn heat onto LOW for 6-7 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours. Walk away and let the crockpot do its magic.

Serve over cooked pasta of your choice. D'lish!

Happy Chicken Parmesan Making (in your crockpot)!

Give me PEANUT BUTTER!!!

2011-01-30T18:02:00.001-05:00

During the last couple weeks of my pregnancy all I wanted to eat was peanut butter - I must have been needing the protein/energy is what I told myself. I especially craved the "natural smooth" kind of peanut butter. I ate PB and jelly and PB and sliced banana sandwiches, PB with sliced apples and banana bread with a nice layer of PB spread all over it....anything that paired with peanut butter well I had ate it.

One of the most scrumptious things I made and ate with PB was Peanut Butter Cookie Bars. OMYumminess these bars were to die for! Super duper EASY to mix together and toss into the oven and bake. And FULL of sweet peanut butter taste which comes from the double dose of peanut butter from the PB Chips and the heaping 1/4 cup of peanut butter added to the batter.

A peanut butter HEAVEN of a dessert! - especially when served with a scoop of good vanilla ice cream and drizzled with chocolate sauce. YUM.

Peanut Butter Cookie Bars

(recipe discovered on Louanne's Kitchen)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

A heaping 1/4 cup peanut butter, crunchy or smooth (I used natural smooth PB)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 /4 tsp salt

6 oz. bag peanut butter chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x9 square baking dish and line with parchment paper - leaving an overhang on opposite sides so that you can lift out the bars when they are done.

2. Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together with a fork; set aside.

3. Cream together butter, sugar, peanut butter and vanilla extract until light and fluffy - about 4 minutes. Beat in egg.

4. Stir in dry ingredients and then peanut butter chips.

5. Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick comes out with a few crumbs attached. Be careful not to over bake. Cool slightly (I like these bars a little warm when served...especially when served with ice cream and chocolate sauce), cut and serve.

Enjoy!!!

Happy Peanut Butter Cookie Bars Baking!

This post has been linked up to Sweet as Sugar Cookies (Sweets for a Saturday)