Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

If I haven't said it before, I am a blog stalker. This recipe comes from another favorite blog called Annie Eats. Her site just makes me drool!! I made these over the weekend for my "neice's" graduation and they were a huge hit!

Ingredients:

For the cake:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. lemon zest
12 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
2 cups fresh strawberries, chopped

For the lemonade syrup:
1 cup lemonade concentrate, thawed
3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

For the frosting:
1 cup fresh strawberries, roughly chopped
12 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
18 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 2/3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
3 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla extract

For garnish:
Fresh strawberries
Lemon slices

Directions:
To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line muffin pans with paper liners. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and lemon zest. Stir together with a fork and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until it is light and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat until well combined. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add half of the flour mixture to the bowl and beat on low speed until just incorporated. Add in the milk and mix until smooth. Add in the remaining flour mixture and mix on low speed until just blended. Fold in the fresh strawberries with a spatula.

Divide the batter evenly between the paper liners, filling them about 3/4 full. Bake about 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cupcakes have cooled, whisk together the lemonade concentrate and confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl to make the lemonade syrup. Poke several holes in the top of each cupcake with a skewer and pour the syrup over the cupcakes, allowing it to soak in. (Place wax paper underneath your cooling rack so you don’t make a mess!)

To make the frosting, puree the strawberries in a food processor or blender. Strain the puree through a mesh sieve to remove the seeds, and set aside. Beat the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and very fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Add the lemon juice and vanilla extract and mix until incorporated. Mix in strawberry puree, a tablespoon at a time, until you achieve your desired texture and flavor of frosting (I added about 7 tablespoons of puree). Frost cupcakes as desired and garnish with fresh strawberries and lemon slices.

NOTES:
To me, this frosting wasn't nearly thick enough. For this light cupcake, I wanted a light and fluffy frosting, but this one was too light. I like my frosting to hold their form just a bit. Anyway, for this recipe, I did add about 1 1/2 cup of extra powdered sugar to the frosting and it was perfect!!

Glitches!

So, there is apparently a glitch in Google where I can't edit my posts. I do like to give credit where it's due and I realized on 2 posts, I forgot to do this! So we will do it this way instead!

On the Chocolate PB Cupcakes. I found the recipe in a blog called The Nerd's Wife. She has some AMAZING recipes that I can't wait to try!!

And the Chocolate Caramel Pudding Pops came from endlisssimmer.com. She is another blogger who I can NOT wait to try more of her treats!!

And by the way, if you would like photo credits for anything, please let me know. The mentioned websites are for photo credits also. But for the rest, they are either mine or I googled them and picked the one that looks the closest to how my recipe turns out.

Turkey Chili

I will say, in my quest for better health, I decided to try a good turkey chili. But I wasn't convinced to try a white chili. I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and it was the best damn chili I think I have ever had in my life!! It has a TON of ingredients, but the flavor is out of this world!!


Turkey Chili

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 small green bell peppers, seeded and chopped
1 habanero pepper, seeded and chopped
2 pounds lean ground turkey
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (1 ounce) envelope instant hot chocolate mix
2 teaspoons seasoned salt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring
2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chile peppers, drained
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
1/2 cup cheap beer
1/2 cup canned whole kernel corn
1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce


Directions
1.Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, green peppers and habanero pepper; cook and stir until the onion is transparent. Push these to one side of the pot, and crumble in the ground turkey. Cover, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the meat is no longer pink. Stir everything together so the garlic doesn't burn.

2.Season with chili powder, red pepper flakes, paprika, cumin, oregano, pepper, hot cocoa mix and seasoned salt. Stir in Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, diced tomatoes with green chilies, tomato sauce and kidney beans. Crack open a beer, and pour in about 1/3. Drink or discard the rest. Partially cover the pan, and simmer over medium heat for about 50 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3.Mix in the corn and hot pepper sauce, and simmer for about 10 more minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.

Notes:
*Don't forget to crack open that second beer!! One for you, one for the chili!
* Depending on how spicky you like things, you can play with the hot pepper sauce. Little more or none at all!

Angel Hair Chicken & Pasta

This is a recipe from my best friend Laura. I haven't figured out how yet, but somehow this recipe always tastes better the next day when microwaving it for leftovers?!?


2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed
12 ounces angel hair pasta
1 carrot, sliced diagonally into 1/4 inch thick slices
1 (10 ounce) package frozen broccoli florets, thawed
2 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese


Directions
1.Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and saute for 5 to 7 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through (no longer pink). Remove from skillet and drain on paper towels.

2.Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 2 to 4 minutes, or until al dente; drain and set aside.

3.While pasta is cooking, heat 2nd tablespoon oil over medium heat in same skillet used for chicken. Stir fry carrots for about 4 minutes, then add broccoli and garlic and stir fry for another 2 minutes. Finally, stir in broth, basil and cheese and return chicken to skillet. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 4 minutes.

4.Place drained pasta in a large serving bowl. Top with chicken/vegetable mixture and serve immediately.

Notes:

When I make this recipe, there are some of us that like the parmasean and some that don't. So I tend to NOT add it to the recipe but put it on the table as a condiment. I usually add a little extra pepper also.

Turtle pumpkin cheesecake

Seriously? pumpkin, chocolate AND caramel?! What can go wrong?!?!

Crust
1 1/2 cups thin chocolate wafer crumbs (about 30 cookies)
1/4 cup butter or 1/4 cup margarine, melted


Filling
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup granulated sugar
5 eggs


Topping
1/2 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
2 ounces bittersweet baking chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup caramel topping
Change Measurements: US | Metric

Directions:
Prep Time: 25 mins

Total Time: 1/2 day

1 Note: To toast pecans, sprinkle in ungreased heavy skillet.

2 Cook over medium heat 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently until pecans begin to brown, then stirring constantly until light brown.

3 For cheesecake, heat oven to 300 degrees F.

4 Wrap foil around outside bottom and side of 9-inch springform pan to prevent drips.

5 Spray bottom and 1 inch up side of pan with cooking spray.

6 In small bowl, mix cookie crumbs and melted butter.

7 Press crumb mixture on bottom and 1 inch up side of pan.

8 Bake crust 8-10 minutes or until set.

9 Cool at room temperature 5 minutes.

10 Refrigerate about 5 minutes or until completely cooled.

11 Meanwhile, in another small bowl, mix flour, pumpkin pie spice, and pumpkin; set aside.

12 In large bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and creamy.

13 Gradually beat in brown sugar, granulated sugar and eggs, one at a time, just until blended.

14 Gradually beat in pumpkin mixture until smooth.

15 Pour filling over crust.

16 Bake 1 hour, 15 minutes to 1 hour 25 minutes or until edge of cheesecake is set but center still jiggles slightly when moved.

17 Run knife around edge of pan to loosen cheesecake.

18 Turn oven off, open oven door at least 4 inches.

19 Let cheesecake remain in oven 30 minutes.

20 Cool in pan on cooling rack 30 minutes.

21 Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight before serving.

22 Just before serving, sprinkle pecans over top of cheesecake.

23 In small microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate and oil uncovered on high 1 minute to 1 minute, 30 seconds, stirring every 15 seconds, until melted.

24 Drizzle chocolate over pecans.

25 To serve, run knife around edge of pan to loosen cheesecake, carefully remove side of pan.

26 Drizzle caramel topping over each serving.

27 Store covered in refrigerator.

Doggie Treats

Yes, i will admit that the reason Miley sits so close to me when I bake is she is SURE every time I bake that I am making her more of her treats. These are a very natural healthy treat for dogs and Miley just LOVES them! The nice part is, there is NOTHING in these cookies that you wouldn't eat yourself!

Honey Oat Cookies

1 cup oatmeal
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:
Mix oatmeal and flour together. Blend honey, water and cinnamon and slowly mix with dry ingredients. Mix until a stiff dough is formed adding a little more flour if needed.

Place dough onto floured surface and coll out, about 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with desired cookie cutter and place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until biscuits are crisp.

Oreo Cupcakes

I must admit...I am a blog stalker. When I saw this recipe from Beantown Baker (one of my FAVORITE blog sites!) I knew I HAD to try it!! VERY very very glad I did!! I will warn you, these are a very dense cupcake but AMAZING!!!



1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups flour, plus 2 Tbsp for the Oreo chunks
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 2/3 cup sugar
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 pkg Oreo Cookies (~45 cookies)

Preheat over to 350F. Insert liners into a medium cupcake pan.

Twist apart 24 Oreos. Place the wafer with filling on it, filling side up, in the bottom of each paper liner. Cut other wafers in half. Save 24 halves to place in the frosting. Crush the other wafer halves, also for garnishing.

Cut the remaining Oreo cookies into quarters with a sharp knife. Toss with 2 Tbsp flour and set aside.

In a large bowl cream the butter until fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the milk and vanilla and mix to combine.

In a separate bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Add the dry ingredients to butter mixture. Mix until integrated. Stir in sugar. With an electric mixer on low speed, beat for 30 seconds. Turn the mixer up to medium speed and beat for 2 minutes. Add the egg whites. Beat for 2 more minutes. Stir in the quartered cookies.

Fill the cupcake lines three-quarters full. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of cupcakes comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in the pan.

Frosting
8 oz cream cheese at room temp
1 stick butter at room temp
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
3-4 cups powdered sugar

Cream butter and cream cheese until fluffy.

Add vanilla extract. Slowly add powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached.

Assemble the cupcakes
Once cupcakes have cooled completely, frost with cream cheese frosting. Sprinkle with crushed Oreos and place 1/2 of an Oreo on the frosting of each cupcake.

Macaroni Salad

This is just a standard recipe. But it's one that my family loves :)

4 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
2/3 cup white sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup grated carrot (optional)
2 tablespoons chopped pimento peppers (optional)


Directions
1.Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the macaroni, and cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Rinse under cold water and drain.

2.In a large bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, mustard, salt and pepper. Stir in the onion, celery, green pepper, carrot, pimentos and macaroni. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving, but preferably overnight.

My anxious awaiter

May I start this off my saying that every time I go to the kitchen, I have a furry friend that takes her spot in the kitchen. It's usually right under my legs unfortunately! (just in case I drop something!) :)

And in case your wondering...that is her stinkeye if I don't share popcorn fast enough. Yep...that's what I get to deal with! Now imagine her in the kitchen waiting or when something slow cooks in the crockpot all day.

Weight Watchers Key Lime Pie

This is my best friends favorite recipe of mine! If she even hears mention of me making this, she shows up with a bottle of wine "just to visit"

1 box sugar free lime jello
1/4 C. boiling water
2 - 8 oz. containers lime yogurt
8 oz. fat free cool whip
1 - 9" low fat graham cracker crust

Dissolve jello in boiling water. Cool slightly. Stir in yogurt. Fold in cool whip.
Pour into crust and chill.

Makes 8 servings @ 3 points each.

I have also made this with Strawberry and Cherry and it's wonderful!!

Chocolate Pudding Cake

This is another one from my former mother in law. I had never heard of such amazingness!! And easy!!

1 box chocolate cake mix
*mix as directed and pour into a 9x13 greased pan.

Mix together...
¾ cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
*sprinkle over cake mix

Slowly pour 1 & 2/3 cups boiling water over the top. (It will look like a sloppy mess!!)


Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Serve it upside down with a little ice cream and VIOLA!

Cheese Enchiladas

This recipe is from my former mother in law. I seriously have not found a recipe that can even compare to this one!!

1/4 c butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c flour
2 c milk

Mix in a kettle, cook and stir until thick. (best if stirred continuously)

Add:
1 1/2 -2 cups cheddar cheese
mix well

Dice 1 small onion if you want.

Spread some enchilada sauce on a work area, cover both sides of the tortilla with sauce. On one side add some onions, and the cheese mixture. Roll up and place in a baking pan. When all are done, add the extra enchilada sauce to the cheese mixture and pour over the top of the rolled enchiladas. Bake for 30 minutes at 350.

Notes:

*this is a MESSY recipe, but SO worth it!
* feel free to add any other meats to this!! Diced chicken works great!! I have also done just browned hamburger with just a few added seasonings (salt, pepper, diced onion, and a bit of garlic)

Pineapple Colada Slushie

I made this for an At Home America party that I had last summer and it was a HUGE hit!!

64 oz can pineapple juice
1 can frozen lemonade
1 bottle pina colada mix

stir and freeze these three overnight.

Take out the next day to serve. Use an ice cream scoop and put some into a glass. Put some 7-up and rum in, mix up with a spoon and VIOLA!! And yes, it can be made without the rum. But what's the fun in that?!?!

Tangy BBQ Beans

1/2 lb sliced well cooked bacon
1 c. chopped onion
3 cloves garlic
1/2 c packed brown sugar
2 TBSP white vinegar
1/2 c ketchup
2 tsp Tabasco
4 cans pork & beans
2 cans dark red kidney beans, drained and washed

I just throw it all in a crock pot and let her go!

Chicken Quesadilla Casserole

1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
3/4 of a soup can full of milk
1 small carton of sour cream
1 small can chopped green chilis or jalapenos
16 oz. shredded cheese
1 pkg. Nacho Cheese Doritos
4 boneless chicken breasts, boiled and chopped

Combine all ingredients except chicken and Doritos in a large bowl. Add chopped chicken and mix thoroughly. Fill bottom of 9X13 baking dish with Doritos, top with above mixture.

Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes. Sprinkle with crushed Doritos on top and bake 3 more minutes.

Chicken Wings

This recipe is from my sister in law Heidi. She made them at my in-laws one day and I knew I HAD to have that recipe! Brent's response to this recipe is "well, they aren't hot wings, but they are pretty good." Guess what?! That's good enough for me!!

Chicken Wings

1 c. water
1 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. pineapple juice
1/4 c. vegetable oil.
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. garlic powder

Mix those all together and pour over 3 LBS wings (or plain chicken breast) Let marinate overnight.

Bake at 370 degrees for one hour. Drain the liquid and bake for another half hour.

I got yelled at.

I LOVE baking! It's my stress reliever. I have been VERY stressed lately!! So Thursday the office got Salted Carmel and Chocolate Pudding Pops. Friday I brought in Smores Cookies. And I just found a recipe for Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes.

To quote my boss..."ok Rochelle, as much as we LOVE being your guinea pigs, ONLY ONE TREAT PER WEEK from now on!!" This is as she turned and grumbled something about starting a gym.

WHAT?!?! That's only 52 treats per year!!! I am WAYYYYYY more stressed than that!!!

I may have to start mailing them to my sister in CA.

A note about my blog

I think this will mainly be a blog with a place to store recipes. I plan on trying more new recipes, giving my review, tips, and *hopefully* not too many failed attempts at recipes! :) So I guess now it's time to just bite the bullet and start adding my recipes. As a warning....most will be baked goods. I have a very meat and potatoes kind of husband so my cooking abilities are good..but branching out is a worthless effort. At least he will try everything and most of the time like it, but politely asks for steaks (with Lawrys seasoning only) and potatoes for the next meal to make up for it! lol

Double Chocolate Malted Milk Cupcakes with Cherry Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Cupcakes:
1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 c whole milk
2/3 c malted milk powder
1/2 tsp espresso powder
2/3 c canola oil
2 large eggs
2/3 c sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c miniature chocolate chips

For Frosting:
4 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 1/2 c unsalted butter softened
1 TBSP vanilla extract
4 TBSP whipping cream
2/3 c tart cherry preserves
Malted milk balls or maraschino cherries for garnish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 regular 12 cup cupcake tins with paper liners.
In a large bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Whisk until well blended.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, malted milk powder, and espresso powder. Add the canola oil and eggs: whisk to blend. Ass the milk mixture to the flour mixture and beat until smooth. Add the sour cream and vanilla and beat until well combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Divide the batter among the prepared cupcake tins filling only halfway full. (they expand quite a bit!) Bake the cupcakes for 15-17 minutes until they spring back when touched or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

While the cupcakes bake, prepare the buttercream. Mix together the sugar and butter. Blend on medium low speed until well blended. Add int he vanilla, whipping cream and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Beat in the cherry preserves until well incorporated.

When the cupcakes have finished baking, cool for 2 minutes in the pan the transfer to wire cooling racks for 10 minutes more. Frost cupcakes either with a knife or piping bag. Garnish each with a malted milk ball or cherry.

My tips:
*I am a piped icing person. It's MUCH easier, less messy and looks neater.

*This doesn't have a whole LOT of malted milk flavoring so I ended up adding 1 cup of malted milk powder and just added about an extra TBSP of milk to make up the liquid part so they wouldn't get too thick.

*These cupcakes expand a LOT while baking. So a half of cupcake tin is MORE than enough!

Romegrot

Such an awful name for such a wonderful food. It really does sound like something that you should use in your bathroom to lay tile, but the smell and taste is next to Heaven. There are of course MANY recipes for this and mine is completely different than my Moms. I *believe* this one came from my Grandma Minnie. I will also warn a newbie to Scandinavian Foods, this is a love it or hate it food. My Mom, my sister and I LOVE it. My Dad stands firm on my comment about the bathroom tiles.

Romegrot

3/4 cup rice
1 quart milk
1 quart whipping cream
1/2 to 3/4 cup flour
1 tbsp butter if needed
a pinch of salt
1/2 cup sugar

Directions:

1. Boil rice in milk.
2. Spray 3 quart saucepan with Pam
3. add cream to large saucepan.
4. Boil for 7 minutes
5. Stir in flour until butter comes out stirring continuously. Skim off the butter
6. If butter does not come out add butter to make it separate.
7. Add rice and milk mixture and mix well.
8. If you feel it should be thicker, add a little extra flour.
9. Add salt and sugar.
10. Serve warm with sugar and cinnamon.

Helpful tips:

Buy heavy whipping cream and whole milk. The higher fat content in Romegrot the better.

Banana Bread

This is Mom's recipe...it's sooo moist and yummy!!



3 mashed bananas

2 beaten eggs

1/2 cup milk

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter



Cream butter and sugar. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Pour batter into 2 small bread pans. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.



Notes: Paul likes his with chocolate chips added, Skylar likes her with some brown sugar baked on top. :) Both are just FINE with me!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting

So Mom and Dad stopped at the office one time and I had these in my car ready to go to a reunion for Brent's family. they both had one and LOVED them! Mom called me less than 20 minutes later for the recipe! And at the reunion, there was ZERO left out of 5 dozen assorted cupcakes!! It's such an EASY recipe too!



Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting



1 box devil’s food cake mix

1 small box Jello instant chocolate pudding mix

8 oz sour cream

1 c vegetable oil

4 eggs

1/2 c milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 c Reese's peanut butter chips



Directions:



Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners. This recipe made about 18 cupcakes.



Dump everything but the peanut butter chips in the bowl of a stand mixer.

mix well until the batter is thick.

Stir in the peanut butter chips.

Fill the cupcake liners about half-full. The batter is very thick.

Use the back of the cake mix box to get an approximate baking time. I added about 10 minutes to it for these to get done.

Use the toothpick test to ensure that the center is done.

Let them cool for a bit while you make the icing.



Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting



Ingredients:



1 c butter

4 c powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract (mine looks funny 'cause it's from Mexico)

3 Tbsp heavy whipping cream

1/2 c peanut butter



Cream the butter until light and fluffy. Slowly add in the sugar.

Add the vanilla and cream.

Beat in the peanut butter until creamy.

Frost the cupcakes as desired. Top with half a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.

Crockpot Breakfast Casserole

1 bag frozen hash browns

1 large onion diced

1 green pepper diced

1 package diced ham

1 (8oz) package shredded cheese

1 dozen eggs

1 cup milk



for convenience (and the fact I hate washing dishes) I put a crock pot liner in the bottom. then simply layer....hash browns, 1/2 onion, 1/2 green pepper, 1/2 package ham, 1/2 package cheese, then start over agian so you have two full layers. Scramble the dozen eggs with the 1 cup milk. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour over the layers. Slow cook for appprox 8 hours. Serve



Tips:

I have a LARGE crock pot so I double this recipe.

I also prefer to use colby jack cheese. it tends to add more flavor.

Know the heat of your crockpot. I know mine runs hot so I wake up around 1-2 to turn it on for 8 am breakfast.

Can be made earlier in the might so all you have to do is turn on the crockpot when it's time.

You can really add anything you want to this. Mushrooms, bacon, sausage....be creative!

Smores Cookies

Ingredients

•1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
•1 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
•1 cup whole-wheat flour (spooned and leveled)
•3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
•1/2 teaspoon baking soda
•1/2 teaspoon salt
•1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
•3/4 cup light-brown sugar
•1 large egg
•8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, cut into 30 squares
•15 large marshmallows, halved horizontally


Directions

•Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, pulse oats until finely ground. Add flours, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; pulse to combine. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, scraping down side of bowl. With mixer on low, beat in flour mixture just until combined.

•Drop dough by tablespoons, 1 inch apart, onto two baking sheets. Top each with a chocolate square. Bake just until lightly golden, 11 to 13 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Remove sheets from oven; heat broiler. Top each cookie with a marshmallow. One sheet at a time, broil until marshmallows are lightly browned, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool. Makes 30 Cookies

Salted Caramel and Chocolate Pudding Pops

Chocolate Pudding

■1/3 cup cornstarch
■½ cup granulated sugar
■Pinch of salt
■3 cups cold whole milk
■3/4 cups dark chocolate, chopped
■1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions:

Combine cornstarch, sugar, salt and whole milk in a blender or food processor and pulse until well blended. Alternatively, combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk vigorously. Transfer mixture to a heat-proof bowl and place over (not on) simmering water for approximately 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pudding is ready when mixture coats the back of the spoon. Add chocolate and stir to combine. Add vanilla and stir to combine.

Salted Caramel Pudding

■1/3 cup cornstarch
■½ cup granulated sugar
■Pinch of salt
■3 cups cold whole milk
■1/2 cup salted caramel sauce (recipe follows)*
■1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions:

Combine cornstarch, sugar, salt and whole milk in a blender or food processor and pulse until well blended. Alternatively, combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk vigorously. Transfer mixture to a heat-proof bowl and place over (not on) simmering water for approximately 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pudding is ready when mixture coats the back of the spoon. Add salted caramel and stir to combine. Add vanilla and stir to combine.

*Salted Caramel Sauce

■½ cup granulated sugar
■2 tablespoons water
■2 tablespoons unsalted butter
■6 tablespoons of heavy cream
■½ teaspoons of kosher salt
Instructions:

Add sugar and water into a saucepan over medium low heat. Stir until sugar has dissolved. Use a wet brush to remove any crystals that form on the side. Once sugar has dissolved increase heat to high. Now and then, using the handle give the pot a swirl to keep the mixture moving. Do not stir the mixture directly. The mixture will start to bubble after a minute. As the mixture darkens to a medium amber color, approximately 5-7 minutes, add the butter and cream to saucepan. The mixture will bubble wildly. Whisk to combine (bubbles will subside upon cooling). Add salt and stir to combine.

Assembly:

For easy layering place cooled pudding in a pastry bag or Ziploc bag and cut the corner. Pipe alternating layers of chocolate and salted caramel pudding into a small Dixie type of cup. Place cups in the freezer for one hour until the pudding becomes semi firm, then place a popsicle stick in the middle an continue to freeze for another 2 hours.

TIPS!!


1. I used a 5 oz dixie cup. Don't do this. They are HUGE!!!! 3 oz will be plenty!!

2. Their tip on using a ziploc bag to pour them? Either I was more untalented than normal last night or it was my first day with a ziploc bag. Didn't work out to well. They look like a 2 year old did it (great excuse for you if you go this route and are NOT as untalented as me!) BUT...they taste yummy.. :)

3. Their tip to cook the sugar for the caramel sauce until it's a medium amber color...don't wait that long...go with a light amber. And by the time you add the butter and cream, it will be a medium amber color and then it was perfect!! The FIRST time I made it I waited for the medium amber color and it was too far gone by the time I added the other ingredients. So yeah... I remade the caramel sauce..twice......