Cake Mix Cookies

So I don't honestly know if this even counts as recipe, but it was too easy and too tasty not to share. This weekend my friend Colby came over b/c she wanted to bake cookies with me. She asked me if you could make cake like cookies using cake mixes and I told her that I didn't know but I would look into it. After a quick Internet search I found that this was a quite well known thing. So Sunday afternoon we went to work making cake mix cookies. I chose cherry chip cake mix adding white chocolate chips and Colby chose chocolate adding semisweet chocolate chips. They were the easiest thing and they really have a cake-like texture. Perfect if you are really in a bind, or just want quick cookies! Below is the recipe and some photos. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 boxed cake mix

Oil

Eggs

Any additional mix ins

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix cake mix according to directions on box minus any water. Add anything extra such as chocolate chips or nuts. Scoop onto cookie sheet and bake for 8 minutes or until edges are slightly brown. Remove from oven and let cool 2 minutes on cookie sheet before moving cookies to cooling rack. Enjoy!

Cheddar Apple Bacon Melts

Difficulty: Easy

Sorry this is actually being posted on Thursday, but I made this recipe last night and was having some trouble photographing and then I had to wait until this morning to upload the photos, but nevertheless, this is a great recipe to share. Grilled cheese is one of the those go-to comfort foods in our house. During the winter I pair it with Tomato Soup, but this go around, I chose to do something a little different. The blend of flavors is wonderful. The crispiness of the apple and bacon add something to to the gooey cheese. In order to shave calories from the traditional grilled cheese, use turkey bacon or even soy bacon, and use whole grain bread and low fat cheese. For my melts, I used turkey bacon but not low fat cheese because I never skimp when it comes to cheddar. Instead of tomato soup, pair this sandwich with watermelon slices and some pretzels for an amazing taste of home.

Ingredients

Sliced Whole grain bread

Cheddar cheese

Bacon,

Granny Smith apple

Butter, margarine or spray butter

Instructions

Begin by cooking your bacon, two slices per sandwich. One bacon is fully cooked, place on plate covered with a paper towel to soak up the grease. Slice apples in thin slices. Assemble sandwich by placing a layer of cheese, 4 apple slices, 2 bacon sliced and another layer of cheese. This helps to hold the sandwich together. Heat frying pan to medium. Once pan is heated, spread or spray butter on one side of the bread. Turn sandwich butter side down in pan and cover with lid. Let cook for 3 minutes, but watch carefully to make sure it doesn't burn. While still in pan, cover the bread facing up with butter then flip sandwich. Cook for another 3 minutes or until browned. Remove from pan, cut in half and serve.

Broiled Steak Sandwiches with Balsamic Vegetables
Difficulty: Easy

This recipe is, to date, one of my very favorite magazine recipes! I'd been eying it since I ripped it out of the February issue of Real Simple magazine. Well last Friday night was finally my chance to try it out. I used ciabatta bread rolls instead of the Focaccia it suggested, and a different type of steak, but everything still blended nicely. The flavors in this recipe were perfect, and it was incredibly easy to put together the sandwiches. If you are looking for a dinner party recipe that doesn't require much time in the kitchen, this is definitely it! Your guests will also be impressed with the presentation. Serve along side some horseradish smashed potatoes and green salad, and any summertime party will be complete. My sandwiches actually looked just as pretty as the magazine picture, however, I was unable to get any of my own photos due to the fact that we ate these so fast! So the photo below is from the original article.

Ingredients
1 pound strip steak
Kosher salt and pepper
4 Roma (plum) tomatoes, halved
1 medium red onion, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rings
4 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
4 pieces focaccia or French bread, cut in half
3 ounces blue cheese, or any cheese you prefer

Instructions

Heat broiler. Season the steak with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Place the steak on one half of the baking sheet. Toss the tomatoes and onion in a medium bowl with the oil, vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Place the onion and tomatoes, cut-side down, on the other half of the baking sheet. Broil the steak and vegetables, turning everything once, until the steak reaches the desired doneness, 4 minutes per side for medium rare. Remove the steak and return the vegetables to oven until browned, about 1 minute more. Toast the rolls. Slice the steak. Place the bottom halves of the bread cut-side up and top with the steak, onions, tomatoes, and cheese. Sandwich with the remaining bread. Serve warm.

WEEKNIGHT PASTA
Difficulty: Easy

This week's recipe is actually my own concoction. I call it weeknight pasta for the simple fact that it's easy to make during the week, after you've worked all day, suffered through the commute, and realized that when you get home, your stomach will be demanding some sort of healthy meal. It's also good for using leftover meat that might be sitting in your fridge. The ingredients are vague and can be substituted based on what you have, or how many people you are serving. Plus there are only a few fresh ingredients, which makes it easy to make from the items in your pantry.

Ingredients
2 servings pasta noodles, any variety of your liking
1/2 c. pesto sauce
1 c. cooked Italian sausage, or can be substituted with sliced chicken, etc.
1 c. marinated and roasted bell peppers
2 t. Pine nuts
2 slices bread such as sourdough, french, or even sandwich bread
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Butter or butter substitute

Instructions
Begin by boiling water. While the water is coming to a boil, prepare bread by spreading a small amount of butter and sprinkling with grated Parmesan. When water is ready, cook pasta according to directions. While pasta is cooking, cook Italian sausage and peppers in small sauce pan over medium heat for 5 minutes. Pour pesto sauce in pan and cook until warm. Place bread in toaster oven or under oven broiler for 5 minutes, or until crisp. Drain pasta when cooked and plate. Pour sauce over the pasta, then sprinkle with pine nuts and Parmesan cheese. Place each piece of toast on the side of plate. Serve.

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures, but i will be making pasta this evening when my cousin comes over, so I might share at a later date!

So today would normally by Recipe Wednesday, but I've finally found a recipe I don't want to share. Sorry! I know that this is rare, but every once in a while, I come across something that is so good, I want it to be my little secret. This week's find was the sugar cookies I made for our BBQ on Memorial Day. I came across the recipe completely by chance, on the Internet of all places. So of course, you could Google sugar cookies too and maybe by chance come across the same recipe. I doubt it, but it is possible. This recipe said that they weren't your typical sugar cookie, so I thought I'd give it a try. Let me tell you, these cookies highly exceeded my expectations. They were perfectly flavored, the dough was easy to work with, and best of all, they didn't require chilling like most sugar cookie recipes.

I will, however, share my little sprinkle technique. Instead of rolling the cookies out and using cookie cutters, I rolled the dough into a ball and then rolled the dough in sprinkles before putting them on the baking sheet. I didn't bother to flatten the dough, the cookies flattened out on their own. It's an easy way to "decorate" your cookies without having to take extra time after they've baked. I hope you enjoy my little salute to the USA!

CHEDDAR RYE BREAD

Difficulty: Easy

This weekend's request from Chris was bread. Now this man loves bread. His mom makes homemade bread a lot, and let me say, it's fantastic. During my first visit to their house, she made at least 3 different types. Before meeting her, I was never into making bread. I was perfectly happy with buying artisan rolls from the local bakery. Was it the cheapest route? No, but it was the easiest in my book. However, after we returned from the Jersey Shore, Chris made the request for one of his mom's bread recipes. I can honestly say I didn't know what to do. Luckily, after a few phone calls her way, I managed to create 2 loaves of bread...from scratch. They weren't the greatest, but for my first try, I was pretty happy. But now, I've gotten to where I love making bread. My secret? The bread maker. I don't use it to actually bake the bread, just make the dough. It is unbelievably easy and saves you all kinds of trouble when it comes to yeast and water temp and all the important stuff. More on my love of the bread maker to come, for now, here's the recipe.

Ingredients

5/8 c. buttermilk

1/2 c. water

1 1/2 tsp. oil

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. brown sugar

2 1/2 c. bread flour

1 c. rye flour

1 c. grated cheddar cheese

3 tsp. yeast

Instructions

Please note that this recipe uses a bread maker, I do not make the dough by hand. Get your bread maker out and set to dough only setting. Then pour each ingredient in order, with the exception of the cheese, into the machine's bowl. Press start. This usually takes around one hour twenty minutes, but depends on the machine. When dough is finished, pour out onto well floured surface with well floured hands. Knead dough gently for two minutes. Roll out dough to approximately the size of a rectangular cookie sheet. Don't make it longer than the sheet, because you will be baking the loaf on the sheet. Once it is rolled out, spread the cheddar cheese, leaving one inch around all sides. This prevents the cheese from oozing out while baking. Roll up the loaf carefully and seal the edges with water if you like. Tuck both ends under to ensure minimal leakage. Transfer loaf to parchment paper covered cookie sheet. Spray a touch of cooking spray on the top of the loaf and bake in a 375 degree oven for 25-30 minutes. After you remove from the oven, let it cool for AT LEAST 5 minutes before cutting. This will prevent the bread from sinking while cutting.

I know that bread can be tricky, so if you have any questions at all regarding this recipe, please let me know!

BUTTERMILK BISCUITS

Difficulty: Medium

Ok, so really I lied about being on top of things. But I will say that in my defense, I got sick and unfortunately haven't really done much of anything. So this recipe is a few days late, and it's purpose is also late, but that's ok. Wednesday was National Buttermilk Biscuit Day, so I wanted to celebrate by making the most fabulous homemade biscuits. I no longer will accept the biscuits from a tube, box, or package in my house, its only the good stuff! And the good stuff is Mrs. Knott's Buttermilk Biscuits...yes, as in Knott's Berry Farm! Back in my middle school years, my parents and I visited the famous Southern California amusement park, and bought this cookbook. Today, it's still the best recipe I've found. I love any excuse to make these, and Wednesday was the perfect one, but it came and went and no biscuits were made. So instead, I encourage you all to try to make these this week and send me your pictures!

Ingredients

1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 t. plus 2 tsp. baking powder
Pinch salt
1 t. solid shortening, chilled
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1 c. buttermilk
Melted butter

Instructions

In an electric mixer, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and shortening and mix until consistency of coarse meal. Combine baking soda and 1/3 c. buttermilk in a separate bowl and beat with a spoon until foamy. Add remaining buttermilk, blend, then add to flour and beat until well blended but do not over beat. Mixture will be very sticky.

Turn out onto a well-floured board, sprinkle top of dough with flour. Slip hands under dough and fold over top, like an envelope, then turn over on board. Pat dough out until one inch thick. Using a glass or heavy metal baking dish (approx. 11" x 7"), pour about 1/2 c. melted butter to coat bottom of dish. Cut biscuits with cookie cutter and roll each biscuit in butter. (Butter will cling to dough which is desirable). Continue cutting and rolling in butter. Biscuits should be touching each other. Bake in preheated 500F oven for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

HAM AND CHEESE TURNOVERS

Difficulty: Easy

Thank goodness for my mom ... she gives me her Real Simple magazines to read after she finishes them. I love the magazine, yet for some reason, I don't like to buy it myself. But anyways, I digress. After I brought home the magazine and looked through it, one recipe really stood out in my mind. Not only did it look easy, but it had few ingredients (great for the wallet) and some I already had in my fridge. I also knew that Chris would enjoy these A LOT! He loves anything that involved bread, meat, and cheese, so I knew he was on board when I said I was going to give these a try. Saturday night was the big night, and let me tell you, these are indeed as easy as it gets. Normally I would make the pizza dough, but since it was a busy Saturday, I opted to buy the pop'n fresh packaged dough from Pillsbury. I did deviate from the instructions in that I made 4 larger ones, instead of 8, and I omitted the onion for the simple fact I didn't want to cut onion that night. I encourage making the salad to go with it, it was the perfect weekend meal and made little mess in the kitchen. Oh, and somehow they were all gone at the end of the night, and I only had one...I'm wondering who else ate the other three... :)

Ingredients

1 lb. package refrigerated pizza dough

8 oz. deli ham, thinly sliced

4 oz. Swiss cheese, thinly sliced

1/2 yellow onion, cut into thin rings

2 tsp. whole-grain mustard

2 t. extra-virgin olive oil

1 small head romaine, torn into pieces

Instructions

Heat oven to 400° F. Roll the pizza dough into a 14-inch circle and cut into 8 triangles. Stack a piece of the ham, cheese, and onion on the bottom of each triangle and roll the dough up around the filling. Some of the filling will stick out the ends, and that's ok. Transfer the rolls to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until golden and crisp, about 15 minutes. Check and cook longer if neccessary. Combine the mustard and oil in a medium bowl and toss with the romaine. Serve with the turnovers.

Happy Cinco De Mayo

Happy Cinco de Mayo! I'm sure that many of you, if you were going to celebrate, chose to celebrate over the weekend. But for those of you who haven't, or are continuing the celebration today, this recipe is for you. I love Mexican food with a passion, in fact, I consider myself a "connoisseur" of the stuff. However, I do get sick of the same heavy stuff: shredded meats, cheese, beans, tortillas and sauce. This recipe is a nice switch from the norm, and also is great for the warmer time of year. I've made this recipe at least 6 times since it was published by Cooking Light just over a year ago. My one suggestion is that the recipe makes a lot of salsa, so I use what I need, and then freeze what's left over. The next time I want to make these, I don't even need to make the salsa! If fact, I'll be making these tonight for our little celebration, along with some margaritas, with salsa that I froze a few months ago.

Spicy Shrimp Tacos with Tomatillo Salsa

Ingredients
Shrimp:
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. ground red pepper
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tsp. olive oil

Salsa:
1/2 lb. tomatillos, coarsely chopped
1/4 c. chopped onion
1/4 c. fat free sour creme
2 t. chopped fresh cilantro
2 t. cider vinegar
1 t. fresh lime juice
1 tsp. sugar
1 avocado, peeled
1 serrano chile, seeded and chopped
corn tortillas

Instructions
To prepare shrimp, combine first 5 ingredients in a bowl. Refrigerate 30 minutes. To prepare salsa, place tomatillos and next 9 ingredients (through serrano) in a food processor; process until smooth. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp; saute 4 minutes or until done. Warm tortillas by placing in damp paper towel and microwaving for 20 seconds. Divide shrimp evenly among tortillas. Top each with about 1/4 cup salsa; fold in half.

*Note that I also add shredded cabbage and cheese to each taco.

ZUCCHINI CUPCAKES
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate

Last Friday, April 25th, was National Zucchini Bread Day. I kept trying, all weekend in fact, to make these zucchini cupcakes, a recipe I found while checking out Vanilla Garlic. Finally, last night I had a few hours while Chris was off coaching ice hockey. Now don't go turning up your nose at the thought of zucchini in cupcakes. Think of a carrot cake type cupcake, but with a green tint instead of orange. Even Chris, who won't even entertain the idea of eating zucchini, said they passed his taste test!

Ingredients
3 c. all-purpose flour
2 1/2 c. turbinado sugar (substitute with brown sugar if necessary)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 eggs at room temperature
1 1/4 c. vegetable oil
3 c. grated zucchini (about 2 zucchini)
3/4 c. raisins, currants, dates, etc.
1 stick butter at room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese at room temperature
2 c. powdered sugar

Instructions

Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl or stand mixer. Add eggs, oil, and vanilla extract. Mix all ingredients. At this batter will be very thick. Add the zucchini and raisins, currants, or what you have. Note that I used dates for my recipe. The batter will gain more moisture and will become more of a cake batter consistency. Scoop batter into cupcake papers until each is a little over half full.

Bake for 18 minutes. If a toothpick comes out clean when testing the cupcakes, they are done. Place on a wire rack to cool. While cupcakes are cooling, make the cream cheese frosting.

Cream the butter and cream cheese together, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and bottom. Slowly add powdered sugar. Add vanilla to taste. When cupcakes have completely cooled, spread or pipe frosting onto them.

STRAWBERRY PIE

Difficulty Level: Easy

Today's inspiration comes from my childhood. Since I was about 7, my family has had a house in Strawberry, Arizona. Yes, that's really the name of the town. It's a very small town, literally a bend in the road, but one thing they do have is the Strawberry Lodge. And in the summertime, they have pie, all kinds, but strawberry has always been my favorite. I would cry every time we would go and they wouldn't have the delectable strawberry version. This weekend, strawberries were on sale, so I decided to make my own. Please let me know if you try this recipe, and how it turned out.

Ingredients
4 c. fresh strawberries, rinsed, hulled, and halved
1 pkg. cream cheese
1 1/2 c. sugar
3 t. cornstarch
1 t. water
pie shell - either graham cracker or dough

Instructions
Begin with baking the pie shell. Either graham cracker or dough will do. I will be giving my recipe for homemade pie crust in another post, so stay tuned. If time is a concern, use pre-made shells. They taste almost as good, and save a lot of time and energy. Bake the shell according to recipe or package instructions. Place on cooling rack and let cool completely.
Place strawberries, water, cornstarch, and remaining sugar into a sauce pan over medium heat. Stir frequently until mixtures comes to a boil. Once mixtures boils, continue to stir until it thickens. Pour filling into bowl and place in refrigerator until cool.

While shell and filling are cooling, put cream cheese and 1/2 c. sugar in microwaveable bowl. Warm in microwave in 30 sec. intervals until the mixture is soft enough to spread. When shell is completely cool, spread in bottom of pie shell.

Once filling has cooled, pour into pie shell and place pie back in the refrigerator until completely set, approximately 3 hours.