S'mores Hot Chocolate

After seeing this fun recipe, I decided I had to try it for Christmas Eve with the family. I didn't have any large marshmallows, so I just used the baby one's. It turned out great, and seemed very festive.

Everyone seemed to like the graham cracker around the edges the most. Very tasty. There's something about homemade hot chocolate that is really fun. I used both milk and dark chocolate, but the consensus seemed to be that everyone liked the dark chocolate the best. This is a very rich recipe so one mug per person was plenty.

See you back here tomorrow with the pictures from our Christmas.

Chocolate Eclair Cake

Thanks to Alana for introducing me to this blissful dessert. I made it last night for book club and everyone asked for the recipe. So here it is..

1 box graham crackers (small box)

2 small boxes instant french vanilla pudding

3 1/2 c. milk

1 (8 oz.) container cool whip

**Butter bottom of 13x9 inch pan. Line with graham crackers. Mix pudding with milk. Beat at medium speed for 2 mins. Blend in cool whip, pour half the mixture in over crackers. Place second layer of crackers over pudding. Pour remaining pudding over crackers. Cover with more crackers. Refrigerate for 2 hours.**

Icing for the cake.

6 tblsp. cocoa powder

2 tblsp. oil

2 tsp. white Karo syrup

2 tsp. vanilla

3 tblsp. soft butter

1 1/2 c. confectioners sugar

3 tblsp. milk

** Beat together and spread on cake. Refrigerate for 24 hours.**

Strawberry Cheesecake Icebox Pie

I got this recipe here. You should also check out her blog, it's pretty hilarious. I have been looking for lower calorie desserts since I have been trying to eat healthier and get into the swim suit from my honeymoon. Believe it or not, this dessert is only 150 calories per serving. (8 servings)

I have been told it tastes better when thawed, so you may want to try that. Here's whatcha need:

Here's whatcha do:


Enjoy!

BobCat Stew

(see how you can make your own personalized card here )

One of these things doesn't belong..

..or does it? Let me explain..

Anyone who has the Food Network knows that Paula Deen is a little bit crazy. Well on Friday, Bob and I were watching one of her cooking shows. She was making brunch and made this recipe..

You may be asking.. "Wait, is that a burger, egg, and bacon sandwiched between two glazed donuts?" Yep. that's what she made alright.

My response: "Oh gross!"

Bob's response: "That looks so good!"

So Bob surprised me Saturday morning by cooking us a little breakfast/brunch experiment. After all, it seemed so strange that we had to try it. (and I had to get pictures to document and prove we actually did it)

Bob made me try it first.

Can you see the concern on my face? Then it was the chef's turn.


Was it messy? YES!

Was it different? YES!

Was it gross? Actually, no. It was pretty good.

In fact these were our plates when all was said and done..

(Mine is on the left. It was a really large sandwich, so I had a little left over, because I was so stuffed.)

So I took a picture of what I had for breakfast today. I think it will be pretty obvious..

Yeah, right! The donut sandwich was pretty good, but it's one of those extremely filling, calorie filled monster sandwiches that you only try every once in a while. I think I will stick to my plain bagel with a couple slices of cheese for now.

So, what's the verdict. Do you think we're crazy? We might be, but atleast we tried something different.

Easiest peanut butter cookies ever..

Whenever I can't make it to the store to get ingredients for a dessert. I make these. And every time I make them, someone asks me for the recipe. Luckily it's so simple you don't even have to write it down.

1 cup sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 egg

Mix, roll into little balls, and flatten with fork. Cook in 350 degree preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Just make sure you let them cool, or else they will crumble. Seriously, you will thank me for this recipe. So so easy, and yummy. Enjoy!

Vegetable Tian (Ina Garten)

After watching Ina Garten from the Food Network prepare this dish, I knew I had to try it. It was a hit, and so pretty. Here's whatcha do..

I used more onions and garlic than was called for, and I still think I could have used all of the garlic. Then you assemble, bake, sprinkle the cheese and bake some more.

And you end up with something like this..

Enjoy!

Full Recipe:

Ingredients:

-good olive oil

-2 large yellow onions (cut in half and sliced)

-2 garlic cloves (minced)

-1 pound medium round potatoes (un-peeled)

-3/4 pound zucchini

-1 1/4 pounds medium tomatoes

-1 teaspoon kosher salt

-1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

-1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, plus extra sprigs

- 2 ounces Gruyere cheese grated (I used way more)

Preheat Oven to 375

Brush a 9x13 baking pan with olive oil.

In a medium saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and cook the onions over medium-low heat for 8-10 mins. (until translucent)

Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Spread the onion mixture on the bottom of the baking pan.

Slice the potatoes, zucchini, and tomatoes in 1/4 inch thick slices.

Layer them alternately in the dish on the top of the onions, fitting them tightly, making only one layer.

Sprinkle w/salt, pepper, thyme leaves, and the thyme sprigs, and drizzle with one more tablespoon of olive oil.

Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 35-40 minutes until the potatoes are tender.

Uncover dish, remove the thyme sprigs, sprinkle the cheese on top and bake for another 30 minutes until browned.

Serve warm.

Witch Fingers

Okay, I totally forgot to post the recipe for the witch fingers I had put on my blog previously. The problem is, that we moved everything over to our apartment last night, and now I have no clue where to look for my recipes! So I found this recipe that looks really simple..

Witches' Fingers

1 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

Almonds

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
In medium bowl, mix together peanut butter, sugar and egg. Shape dough into "fingers" (about 5/8 inch in diameter) and place on a cookie sheet. Make indentations for knuckles with edge of spoon.

Place almonds at the end of each finger. Press down to form nail. Bake in preheated oven 12 minutes or until set. Cool before removing from cookie sheet. Makes 18 to 20 fingers.

You can also take red food coloring and put it at the base of the nail bed. Sorry this is so late! Happy Halloween!

Pasta Salad

Made this salad for the weekend festivities. I made half for Jess's party and half for the 4th. I thought it was okay when I tasted it at Jess and Gav's bbq, but then on the 4th my mom helped me tweak it to make it even better. (my mom is the food expert after all) We added a little more dressing, tomatoes, parmesan cheese (which I forgot to add) and pistachios. It made it so so yummy. If you're interested in making it. This is what I suggest..

-corkscrew noodles
-spinach
-tomatoes
-green onions
-pistachios
-parmesan cheese
-Light House ranch (next time I might try homemade ranch to see if I like it better)
-mayonnaise to help thicken and cover noodles

*add the pistachios last and right before you serve so they don't get soggy. Enjoy.

Lemonade Cake

Okay, so I was originally going to make these.. (found here)

Lemonade Cupcakes

white cake mix
3 eggs
8 oz cream cheese, softened
8 oz sour cream
6 oz lemonade concentrate, thawed; reserve 2 T for frosting
Mix together on high for 3 minutes.
Fill muffin tins 3/4 full and bake at 350 degrees for 18-22 minutes.

Frosting:

1 can cream cheese frosting
2 T reserved lemonade from above
Makes 30 cupcakes

But then I realized that I didn't have any cupcake liners. So I used the same recipe and did bundt cake instead. All I had to do was bake it longer. This recipe is so easy and so worth making. It was tasty and great for summer. Next time I make it I think I will put strawberries on top. Definitely a summer treat I would recommend. But I would make them cupcakes because of how rich they are. Enjoy!

Sweet Tooth

Made some sweet treats this weekend. They turned out super tasty. The mini cheesecakes were so simple to make, and they turned out so pretty...

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Brownies

(Cherise it's too bad you weren't here, but at least you can see pictures!)

Mini Oreo Cheesecakes

Cream Filled Strawberries

So our friend Gavin is graduating today! He has put in a lot of hard work, but he refuses to let anyone get him any presents. (seriously REFUSES) So instead we decided to surprise him last night and take him lot's of balloons (thanks Eric) and these cream filled strawberries. Congrats on graduating Gav, we love you!

I got this recipe from my aunt Kim (she is quite the gourmet). They turned out so pretty but most important... yummy! Here's whatcha do...

wash and core strawberries...

make the filling...

squeeze filling in strawberries, refrigerate, and drizzle chocolate...

Here is the finished product. (check comments for full recipe)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bon Bon's

I got this recipe from here under the candy section. (you can get the recipe from her site or I will post it in my comments with a few tips) Judging by this and my Peanut Butter and Banana Stuffed French Toast it would seem I am on a peanut butter kick as of late.. (I personally can't get enough of the PB)

Okay, let's get started...

I had fun crushing my rice crisps (took out my frustration from the day on them)

very rich and very tasty

Enjoy!

Banana and Peanut Butter Stuffed French Toast

For brunch I made a new recipe I found. It was a big hit. (so good) Here's how it works...

then..

and then..

yummy.

(check comments for full recipe)