Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies

I couldn't get enough of these.  I made them for a friends birthday party, and they were all gone by the end of the day.  I can't explain how good these were.  You'll just have to make them and see for yourself.  I ended up cooking some too long, so they weren't as soft anymore.  In my opinion, they were great whether you cooked them less and had a softer cookie, or you cooked them longer and had a crunchier cookie.  In a way it was like two different cookies, but the same.  I will definitely make these again, and I will make some both ways.

Butterscotch chocolate chip cookies

3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup butter flavored Crisco stick
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 (3.4 oz) package butterscotch instant pudding mix (the store didn't have butterscotch, so I used vanilla)
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp baking soda*
3 to 3 1/2 cups flour
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the sugars, butter and Crisco until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla extract. Add pudding mix; stir until incorporated.

In a small bowl, whisk together 1 cup of the flour with the baking soda and salt. Blend into the egg mixture.

Add additional flour 1/2 to 1 cup at a time until reaching desired consistency. I use a total of 3 to 3 1/2 cups flour, depending on the humidity level of the day.

Fold in chocolate chips and butterscotch chips.

Drop spoonfuls of dough on cookie sheet. (To achieve a more round, cleaner look, roll the balls of cookie dough in your hand instead of just dropping on the cookie sheet.) Bake exactly 10 minutes, rotating cookie sheets halfway through. The cookies may not look done, but that is the trick to keeping them puffy and soft. Let cookies cool on the cookie sheet on top of wire racks for 5 minutes. Remove from cookie sheets and cool completely on the cooling racks.

*Recipe Note: Make sure your baking soda has not been opened over 1 month.

Adapted from Pennies on a Platter

Velveeta Taco Dip

Ok, so this may not look that good.  Believe it is very very good.  I eat it with the scoopable chips.  It's very addicting.  I made this when we had a grill out with friends.  Some of them even tried it with the puffy Cheetos, and said it was good.  I got this recipe from a friend that made it for a birthday party.

Velveeta Taco Dip

1 lb. ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning
2 lb. block velveeta cheese
1 cup milk
1 can diced tomatoes

Directions
Brown the ground beef, and then add 3/4 of the taco seasoning.  You can probably add as much as you want really.  Set that aside.  Cut the velveeta up, and put it in a microwave safe bowl.  Add the 1 cup milk, and melt in microwave.  Do this until you can combine the milk with the velveeta cheese and it becomes a smooth consistency.  Add the meat mix and diced tomatoes and stir.  I'm sure you can play with this a bit and add other things to it if you desire.

Red Velvet Puppy Chow

I LOVE puppy chow, so I thought I would try other flavors of it.  My husband loves red velvet cake, so I decided on red velvet puppy chow.  It was good, but honestly they turned out with a stale feel.  I think the cereal got soggy from the sauce, but I'm not sure what can be done to avoid that.  It was good anyway.

Red Velvet Puppy Chow

Ingredients:
1 cup white chocolate chips
2 Tbsp. cream cheese
2 Tbsp. milk
5 cups rice Chex
1 cup boxed red velvet cake mix
1/2 cup powdered sugar 

Note: I did steps 1-4 in a bowl in the microwave.
Step 1: Make a double broiler with a pot filled with an inch or so of water, place a glass bowl that fits inside the pot- but the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water. Basically, the steam from the pot is going to slowly, delicately melt the chocolate. Turn the heat to medium.  
Step 2: Toss the white chocolate chips in the bowl.
Step 3: Stir, and stir, and stir until the chocolate melts.
Step 4: Turn off the heat and add the cream cheese and milk. Stir until the cream cheese is melted and everything is combined.
Step 5: Stir the chex and the melted chocolate together until the cereal is fully coated.
Step 6: In a separate, smaller bowl whisk together the cake mix and powdered sugar. 
Step 7: Transfer cereal to a tupperware container, top with cake mix and close tightly. Shake, shake, shake!


Adapted from unBearablyGood

S'mores Cupcakes

We were having friends over for a grill out and fire.  I decided to make these for dessert.  They were better than the traditional s'more.  At least in my opinion.  I love to experiment with cupcakes because that's what I like to bake the most.  I'm not sure why, but I always feel great after making some for other people.  The original recipe had a lot of frosting on the cupcake, and honestly that would have been great.  I didn't put that much on because there wouldn't have been enough frosting to go around for all the cupcakes.  The original recipe also called for only 1/2 cup marshmallow cream, but I didn't feel like it was enough marshmallow taste.

S'more Cupcakes

Chocolate Cakes

1 ¾ cup sugar

¼ cup brown sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup sour cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 cups flour

1 cup cocoa

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

¾ cup boiling water

Graham cracker crumbs (fine crumbs)

Marshmallow Cream Centers

4 oz cream cheese

1 container marshmallow cream

1 ½-2 cups powdered sugar

Graham Cracker Buttercream

8 oz cream cheese

½ cup butter, softened

4 cups powdered sugar

¾ cup graham cracker crumbs (fine crumbs)

1 teaspoon vanilla

2-3 tablespoons whipping cream or milk

mini marshmallows and chocolate for decoration

Directions:

1.    Preheat oven to 360 degrees and line cupcake pans with liners (24).

2.    Mix sugar, brown sugar and oil for 3 minutes until smooth.

3.    Add sour cream and vanilla extract stir well.

4.    Add eggs one at a time and mix only until incorporated.

5.    In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

6.   Add dry ingredients and boiling water to sugar mixture alternating between the two.

7.    Spoon ¾ teaspoon of graham cracker crumbs into the bottom of each cupcake liner. (I mixed some melted butter with the graham cracker crumbs, so it would be sturdier)  Shake pan to spread evenly.

8.   Fill liners ¾ full and bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

9.   Mashmallow Cream Centers: Beat cream cheese, marshmallow cream and powdered sugar.  Add more powdered sugar to taste.  

10.When cupcakes are cooled, cut out a small area from the top of the cake and pipe marshmallow cream into each cupcake.

11.   Graham Cracker Buttercream: Beat cream cheese and butter until light and creamy.  Add powdered sugar, vanilla and graham cracker crumbs.  At this point, the buttercream will look like cookie dough.  Add heavy cream a little bit at a time until buttercream consistency is reached.

12.  Pipe onto cooled, marshmallow filled cupcakes and top with mini marshmallows and melted chocolate.

Adapted from Your Cup of Cake

Carne Asada w/ Chunky Guacamole

I had this at a friends house when we had a girls night in.  I had never even heard of these before.  They were amazing.  Very very good.  The marinade on the steak was phenomenal.  Of course I wanted to try and make them at home and have my husband try them.  I asked my friend for the recipe, and of course she gave it to me.  She told me to use honey instead of sugar because it's a natural tenderizer, so I did.

Carne Asada

Ingredients

2 pounds flank or skirt steak
Olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Marinade
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeño chile pepper, seeded and minced
1 teaspoon freshly ground cumin seed (I used the stuff in the jar)
1 large handful fresh cilantro, leaves and stems, finely chopped (I used the stuff in the jar)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 limes, juiced
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1/3-1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup olive oil

Directions

1 Lay the flank steak in a large non-reactive bowl or baking dish. (I poked holes all over the steak before covering with marinade) Combine marinade ingredients and pour the marinade over the steak. Make sure each piece is well coated. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for 1-4 hours if pressed for time. (note: I put mine in a 1 gallon bag)

2 Preheat your grill over medium-high flame (you can also use a cast iron grill pan on high heat for stove-top cooking). Brush the grates with a little oil to prevent the meat from sticking. Remove the steak from the marinade. If you are cooking indoors, you may want to brush off excess marinade as the bits may burn and smoke on the hot pan. Season both sides of the steak pieces with salt and pepper. Grill the pieces for a few minutes only, on each side, depending on how thin they are, until medium rare to well done, to your preference. You may need to work in batches. Remove the steak pieces to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes. Thinly slice the steak across the grain on a diagonal.

Serves 4-6.

Chunky Guacamole

1 white onion diced
3 tomatoes diced
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 jalapeno diced (optional)
sprinkle of cumin
handful of cilantro chopped (Again I used the stuff in a jar)
juice of 1 lime (I used a lemon because that's what I had)
3 haas avocados

Serving size:4-6


Directions
1) Mix everything except avocados together in a bowl. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours, but no more than 24.
2) Before serving, add diced avocados. Mix well. Add salt to taste.


Adapted from The DIY Frau - Carne Asada
                      The DIY Frau - Chunky Guacamole

Biscuits & Gravy

I have also made these before, and they are fantastic.  I know they are typically a breakfast food, but I made them for supper.  I love making everything from scratch.  It gives a sense of accomplishment.  Also, it makes it feel healthier even if it isn't.  The recipe I followed didn't give specific measurements for the milk and flour in the gravy, but just add a little at a time.

Biscuits & Gravy   


Biscuits

6 cups Flour
1 cup Crisco
3 tablespoons baking powder
2 cups buttermilk*
1 tablespoons salt

Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl, cut in shortening. Stir in milk and mix, making sure the dough is moistened. Mix in enough flour to make a soft dough adding more flour as needed. Turn out onto floured surface adding more flour  a little at a time until dough can be formed into a ball. Knead 15 times. Gently flatten dough with your hands. Using a biscuit cutter, cut out biscuits and place on baking sheet, bake at 425 degrees until tops are golden brown, between 10-15 minutes.

**Buttermilk Tip: Take Milk or Powdered Milk and add 1 tsp of Vinegar, per cup.

Gravy

4 sausage patties

dollop butter

flour 

milk

If you use sausage patties, then use 4, or if you use a tube, then make 4 patties. Fry them up, drain off most of the oil, break up the sausage into pieces, and add a dollop of butter.  Add some flour to coat the sausage.  Fry for a few minutes, and then slowly add some milk.  Mix and stir and allow to thicken a little.  Continue to add milk* and repeat.  Add in salt, pepper and butter.  Southern Sausage Gravy is peppery, so make sure you add enough pepper! 

Adapted from http://frugalgravy.wordpress.com/2009/09/18/homemade-biscuits-and-gravy-recipe-southern-recipe/

Sweet & Sour Chicken w/ Fried Rice

I've made this before starting my blog, so I didn't have a picture.  It was no big deal making it again because it's soooo delicious.  I think the sweet and sour chicken is better than any I've had at any restaurant.  The fried rice was very tastey too, but I plan to play with it next time to see what different flavor I can get.  I will definitely be making this often.  It's also nice that you don't have to dip the chicken in the sweet and sour sauce.  It's just easier to pop it into your mouth.


Sweet & Sour Chicken w/ Fried Rice

The chicken coating

3-4 boneless chicken breasts

salt + pepper

1 cup cornstarch

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup canola oil

The sweet and sour sauce

3/4 cup sugar

4 tbs ketchup

1/2 cup distilled white vinegar

1 tbs soy sauce

1 tsp garlic salt

       Start by preheating your oven to 325 degrees. Rinse your chicken breasts in water and then cut into cubes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Dip chicken into the cornstarch to coat then dip into the eggs.  Heat your 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet and cook your chicken until browned but not cooked through. Place the chicken in a 9x13 greased baking dish. Mix all of your sweet and sour sauce ingredients in a bowl with a whisk and then pour evenly over the chicken. Bake for one hour and during the baking process you will need to turn the chicken every 15 minutes.  

Fried Rice                                                                                             

3 cups cooked white rice (day old or leftover rice works best!)

3 tbs sesame oil

1 cup frozen peas and carrots (thawed)

1 small onion, chopped

2 tsp minced garlic

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/4 cup soy sauce

On medium high heat, heat the oil in a large skillet or wok.  Add the peas/carrots mix, onion and garlic. Stir fry until tender. Lower the heat to medium low and push the mixture off to one side, then pour your eggs on the other side of skillet and stir fry until scrambled. Now add the rice and soy sauce and blend all together well. Stir fry until thoroughly heated.

From Life is a Lofthouse

Lasagna

We like to use paper plates, and I forgot to put in on a different on for the picture.

My husband loves lasagna, so I thought I would make some.  It's been awhile.  I wanted to try something new, so I put some hot sauce on the top layer.  We couldn't taste it at all really, so next time I will put more.  I like my lasagna pretty plain, but you can add whatever you want.  I didn't have much time to think about it.
Lasagna

12 lasagna noodles
1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese(I used the container kind)
1-24 oz. jar marinara sauce
2-24 oz. containers cottage cheese(I used only about 1 1/2)
1-8 oz. bag shredded cheddar cheese
Hot sauce(optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook the noodles in a large pan with water and olive oil.  While the noodles are cooking you can brown the ground beef and cut up the onion and garlic.

Strain the noodles and ground beef when done.  Season the meat with whatever you like.

Mix ground beef, onions, garlic, and Parmesan cheese.  I sauteed the onions and garlic before mixing with ground beef.

Cover the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan with a layer of marinara sauce.  Line four lasagna noodles across the bottom.  Spoon half of the meat mixture onto the noodles.  Spread half the cottage cheese over meat, and then repeat with marinara sauce, noodles, meat mixture, and cottage cheese.  Before putting the top layer of lasagna noodles sprinkle with hot sauce.  Then put the last layer of lasagna noodles and sprinkle the cheddar cheese on top.

Cover with aluminum foil and cook for 45 mins.  Take the foil off and continue to cook for another 15 mins.

Grilled Avocado w/ Hot Sauce & Parmesan Cheese

I'm not a huge fan of avocados.  I can eat them, but if I don't have to I won't.  I saw these and figured I could give them a try because maybe the avocado taste wouldn't be so prevalent with the hot sauce.  I was right.  I really enjoyed these.  I used buffalo sauce because that's what I grabbed without realizing it.  I will definitely make these again.  I made these with lasagna which I will be posted after this.  You can probably eat a whole one of these for a meal because avocados are actually high in calories compared to other fruit.  A half of a avocado is about 160 calories which I didn't know.  I don't know this for a fact, but that's what it said when I looked it up.


Grilled Avocado w/ Hot Sauce & Parmesan Cheese

 Ingredients:
1 avocado
1 tablespoon hot sauce(I used buffalo)
1 tablespoon lime juice
¼ cup parmesan cheese(I used the shredded in the container)
Salt and pepper

Method:

1. Slice the avocado in half and remove the stone. Prick all over with a fork, or cut criss-cross patterns with a knife. This allows the sauce to penetrate the flesh.

2. Pour the sauce over each half, then top with lime juice and salt and pepper.

3. In the cavity where the stone has been, put a fourth of the cheese on each avocado half. Place under the hot grill for 2 minutes. 

4. Top with remaining cheese and grill (broil for Americans!) for another 2 minutes until completely melted and avocado warmed through.

Adapted from Morsels & Musings

White Chocolate Cheesecake w/ Caramel Sauce

I'm not the best with pictures

I wanted to make something for my friends birthday party.  We were all going out to eat at this great Italian restaurant  but I thought it would be nice to have some dessert afterwards.  There was this cheesecake that I wanted to try.  It was a salted caramel cheesecake, but the dulce de leche didn't turn out.  I'm not sure what went wrong because I followed the directions.  They were pretty simple, but I didn't have enough time to try it again.  I will at a later date though because I still want to attempt that cheesecake.  I had planned for this, so I decided to make this cheesecake instead.  Well I thought I had planned for this, but forgot the heavy cream for the caramel sauce.  Luckily my husband got off work just in time to run to the store and get me some.  I did attempt the caramel sauce with substitute for the heavy cream, but for this it definitely didn't work.  It turned out to be too much butter.  Anyway, I was able to get the caramel sauce done in time.  It smelled soooo good in my kitchen when I was making it.  I wanted to just eat it all up then and there, but would have burned my mouth.  I used all the caramel sauce, but I think it might have been a little too much.  With that said the cheesecake was still delicious, and that is what everyone at the party said too. I mean how could it not be.  Sadly, my husband didn't get to try it, but I'm sure it will be make again.  Any flavor of cheesecake would be good.


White Chocolate Cheesecake w/ Caramel Sauce

Caramel Sauce
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 3/4 teaspoons lemon juice
1 pint heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

In a medium sauce pan over medium high heat combine the sugar and lemon juice. Stir with a wooden spoon(I used a plastic one) until the sugar is mostly melted then set aside the spoon and swirl the pan over the heat to keep the color even throughout. 

Continue to cook and swirl until the sugar turns a medium amber color. Watch it carefully, the sugar will quickly darken and should it become dark brown or black it will taste bitter and unpleasant. 

When the sauce turns the right color slowly whisk in the cream. If the caramel hardens with the addition of the cream, do not worry. Just continue to add the cream and bring the mixture back to a a boil over medium heat. Continue to stir until the sugar has remelted. Allow to boil for 5 minutes then remove from heat and stir in the butter. 

Pour into a heat safe container and chill until ready to use. 

Crust
10 ounces graham crackers(19-20 crackers), crushed into crumbs
7 tablespoons unsalted butter

Cheesecake Filling
3 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 ounces good quality white chocolate, chopped
5 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
pinch salt

boiling water

Pre-heat the oven to 375°F. Combine the graham cracker crumbs with the melted butter and press into the bottom and 1 1/2 inches up the side of a 10 inch spring form pan.

Bake for 10 minutes and then allow to cool completely on a wire rack. 

Reduce the heat to 325°F and prepare the cheesecake batter. 

Place the chopped white chocolate into a heat safe bowl and set aside. Bring the 1/2 cup of cream to a simmer over medium heat in a small sauce pan. Pour the hot cream over the white chocolate, jiggle the bowl to submerge it and allow to stand for one minute. Stir the chocolate gently until melted completely. 

In your mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until smooth and lump free. Add the sugar and mix, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. 

On medium speed, slowly add the white chocolate ganache. Once combined you can add the eggs, one at a time, beating on low speed until each egg is incorporated. Once you've added all the eggs, mix in the vanilla and salt and pour into your prepared pan. 

Set the pan onto a couple large sheets of aluminum foil and smooth them up the sides of the pan to waterproof. 

Set the cheesecake into a large roasting pan and then place in the oven. Pour the boiling water into the roasting pan, filling to about one inch (no higher than the lowest edge of aluminum foil). Allow to make at 325°F for one hour then reduce heat and bake at 300°F for an additional 60-90 minutes until the center is just set. 

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Once cool chill for at least 4 hours before serving. 

To glaze, gently warm the 1 cup of the caramel sauce on the stove or in the microwave until slightly runny and then pour onto the cheesecake. Smooth the caramel over the cake and you're ready to serve. 


Adapted from Not So Humble Pie