Cake, Cheesecake, Cupcakes

I have been slacking I know. Its not as though I have not been baking because I have. I just have not had the time to blog. So here are a few yummy treats that I have made lately. There are a few firsts in this blog. Before this blog I had never made a cheesecake or a layered cake. This cake took some converting since I got it from an Austrilian website so I would say it was the hardest thing I have ever baked.

Oreo Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes back in October. That shows just how busy I have been. A girl I work with LOVES cookies and cream sweets. When I made cookies and cream cupcakes this summer she had said that she would want them again for her Birthday. So I just that note in the back of my mind and one day when I came across these cupcakes I decided they would be perfect for her Birthday. They are some of the most amazing cupcakes I have made. There is a half an oreo on the bottom and the fluffiest forsting. To say the least they were a HIT

Ingredients

-Cupcakes-
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa
3/4 cup hot, strong-brewed coffee
3/4 cup bread flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
15 Oreo halves, with cream filling attached

-Frosting-
1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons whipping cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons Oreo cookies, finely crushed
15 Oreos for the top of each cupcake

Directions

Prehead Over to 350 degrees
Line your pan with cute cupcake liners
Twist Oreos in half and set aside the extra cookies for later. Place the side with cream filling in the bottom of each cupcake liner, cream-side facing up.



Place chocolate and cocoa in a medium bowl and pour the hot coffee over the mixture. Whisk until smooth and transfer to the refrigerator to cool completely, 20-30 minutes.

Whisk flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda together in a medium bowl; set aside.

Whisk oil, eggs, vanilla, and vinegar into the cooled chocolate mixture until smooth. Add flour mixture and whisk until batter is smooth.

Divide batter evenly among pan cups (I use an ice-cream scoop) filling each 3/4 full.



Bake until cupcakes are set and firm to the touch, 17-20 minutes. Allow to cool in pans.



Combine the whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium-high speed until the whipped cream holds stiff peaks. Gently fold in the cooke crumbs with a spatula.

Frost

I placed a half of a cookie ontop of the cupcake for decoration



-Pinterest Recipe-

Tim Tam Cake

For those of you who dont know what a Tim Tam is...it is an amazing Cookie that I feel in love with while I was in Austrilia. My dad also feel in love with these cookies. Between the two of us a box would be gone in a night. They are a cookie with a filling with another cookie covered in CHOCOLATE. So as I was wasting time on pinterest one day (If you dont know what that is your missing out. Its an amazing way to waste time and get great ideas on recipes, craft ideas, etc.) I stubmled across a recipe for a TIM TAM cake. Since my Dads Birthday was right around the corner I decided to print off the recipe and see if I could make an attempt at this cake. Like I said before I had never made a layerd cake before. So to say the least this cake was not as pretty as some of my cupcakes. There was giant chunks of cake missing from them sticking to the pan. and the Chocolate glaze didn't trun out as I had hoped. With that being said the cake was amazing. So super chocolately and rich but I loved it. I will have to make it again and see if I cant make it prettier.

Ingredients

-Cake-
(make it twice for layers)
4 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup  cornstarch
1/4cup Dutch-process cocoa
1 tbsp plain flour
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

-Filling-
1/2 butter, removed from the fridge 30 minutes before starting
2/3 milk chocolate, melted
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tbsp milk

-Chocolate Glaze-
1 1/4 cup whipping cream
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions

-Cake-
Line two 1 rectangular cake pan. Preheat oven to 350°F
Whisk eggs and sugar in an electric mixer until thick and pale.
Sift over cornstarch, cocoa, flour, cream of tartar and baking soda, fold in with spatula. Fold in butter
spoon into prepared tin
Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool on cooling rack completely

-Filling-
Beat butter and sifted icing sugar until light and fluffy.
Add melted chocolate and milk and beat until smooth.
Spread icing over the top of one of the cakes
Sandwich other cake on top of the icing and biscuits.

-Chocolate Glaze-
Break up chocolate into small pieces and place in a large mixing bowl
Slowly heat cream in a small saucepan
Just as it starts to come to the boil, remove from the heat and cool for a couple minutes.
Pour hot cream over chocolate and set aside 10 minutes to allow chocolate to melt. Mix cream and chocolate together until smooth using a whisk,
then cool (I placed mine in the fridge for about 15 mins) until it reaches room temperature and thickens.
Pour over the top of the cake, using a spatula to ensure the ganache covers all the top and sides of the cake (the excess will drip off everywhere so make sure you lay down some baking paper to catch the drips)
Chill in the fridge until the glaze sets up



Not supper pretty....I will work on my cake skills some more!

Pumpkin-Orange Cheesecake with Chocolate 

Crust and Salted Caramel 

This was the first time I have ever made a cheesecake let alone one of this megnitude. When I volunteered to make dessert I figured I would make a simple pumpkin pie. WRONG! Kathy got a magazine right before thanksgiving that had this recipe in it. She said it would be super easy so I said what the hell. What do i have to lose. If it sucks we can always go buy a pie. She was right this was super easy. I did face one issue (the directions said it would only need to make for an hour or so. However, it took much longer than that). This Cheesecake is packed full of a million different flavors but surprisingly enough they all meshed well and made an amazing treat.

Ingredients

-Crust-
1 Package of Oreos (removed the center filling)
1/2 cup melted unsalted butter

-Filling-
3 packages of cream cheese (8oz) at room temp.
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp. flour
4 large eggs, at room temp.
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup heavy cream, sour cream, and maple syrup
Zest of one Orange
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

-Topping-
6 tbsp. store bought caramel topping
1/8 tsp table salt
1/2 cup coarsely chopped toasted pecans

Directions

-Make Crust-
Preheat the oven to 350. Whirl cookies in a food processor until finely ground. (I put them in a bag and used a rolling pin). Whirl in butter just until incorporated. Pour crumbs in a 9-in. springform pan and press over bottom and up the side about an 1 in.
Bake for 7 minutes, then let cool on a rack. Reduce over heat to 300 degrees.

-Make Filling-
In a large bowl, with a mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese, sugar, and flour until smooth. Beat in eggs on low speed 1 at a time. Add remaning filling ingredients and beat until just blended. Wrap bottom of pan with foil, pressing it up the outside.

-Set-
Place the springform can in a roasting pan and pour filling into crust. Pour enough boiling water into roating pan to come about halfway up seide of springform pan. Bake until cheese cake barley jiggles in the center when gently shaken. It says one hour...Mine was more like 1 hour 45 minutes. Just keep an eye on it. Cook for 5 hours

-Topping-
Wish caramel topping and table salt in a bowl and spoon over cheese cake. Arrange pecan around the rim.



ENJOY!
(Sunset Magazine)

Quick & Easy Treats

Here are a few quick and easy treats that I have failed to take pictures of but I wanted to share with you any ways because they are so good. Lately I have tired new recipes... But because I was not sure how they would turn out I totally dropped the ball on taking photos of them

The first snack is very much fall inspired. PUMPKIN DIP. When I first came across this recipe I was a tad scared. I love pumpkin...but in a dip form I was not sure if I was going to make this and it was going to be a total mess. WRONG. I made this dip for a work pot luck and it a total hit...Or maybe i ate it all but either way at the end of the day there was hardly any left.

Ingredients

1 can of pumpkin puree
1 16oz tub of light whip cream
1 small box of vanilla pudding (I did not fat or sugar free) somthing to make it healthier
Cinnamon to flavor

Mix all ingredients into a bowl and chill. I served this dip with Ginger Snaps, Sliced Apples & Nilla wafers! I am sure you could use other fruits if you are trying to stay away from the cookies.


Second snack is Chocolate Peanut Butter Frozen Bananas. I love to have something sweet after I eat so I am always looking for something healthy that will help with the sweet tooth but not put me over the edge and make me regret my choices later. So when I saw this recipe I couldn't help but give it a try.

Ingredients

2 Bananas
1/3 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup peanut butter

Place chocolate chips and peanut butter in a bowl and microwave for 1 minute. Slice Bananas. Dip the bananas in the chocolate mixture and place or a plate. Once your done dipping place in the freezer for at least an hour and enjoy. I am absolutly in LOVE with these little bite size treats. I recommend these to anyone who needs a healthy snack after dinner!

Both of these snacks are quick easy and amazing. You can make them healthier by using LIGHT whip cream and the fat free or sugar free pudding. For the second snack you could use organic chocoloate chips and organic peanut butter.I hope everyone likes these treats as much as I did.

Pumpkin Brownies

This recipe is another one of Grandma Lewis's Recipes. When Madi and I were going through her cook book to find the Chicken Noodle Soup recipe i stumbled across this Pumpkin Brownie Recipe. I have been really looking forward to making them.However, I decided to wait and make them while I was in Pocatello so that I could share them with my family. These brownies have been going pretty quicky. They are like a pumkpkin pie placed on top of a pan of brownies....I'd say its a pretty amazing combination. This is a great treat to make for a big party or office treat because it makes A LOT. Another great thing about this recipe is how easy it is to make. Making stuff from scratch is always a good time....but every now and then it is nice to just open a box throw it in a bowl add a few ingredients and BAM your done. This is one of those easy recipes.

Ingredients

Pumpkin Filling

1pkg (8oz) Cream Cheese
1 can (15oz) Canned Pumpkin
2 Eggs
6 tablespoons suga
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Brownies

2 Boxes of Brownie Mix

Directions

1) Mix filling together set aside
2) Make the brownies as directed
3) Pour 3/4 of brownies in a greased 9x13 inch pan
4) Pour filling on top of brownies
5) Pour remaining brownies over pumkpin and swirl.
6) Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clear.

Grandma Lewis's Chicken Noodle Soup

My roomates Grandma gave her the perfect Christmas present and we finally put it to good use. Grandma Lewis used a picture book and has turned it in a book of all her favorite recipes. The book started out with just a few in each categorie and each month Madi get 3 or so new recipes in the mail to add to her book.

Since it rained off and all today Madi decided we should make chicken noodle soup. This is a meal I have actually never made so I was excited to learn a new recipe. Especially since this is a recipe Madi grew up loving. The best part about this soup is that it involves making home made noodles. I had always thought making noodles from scrath was a difficult process but I was WRONG. They were super easy and AMAZING! I am looking forward to making noodles from scrath more often.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Noodles

To 4 cups of borth mix one egg to 2 tablespoon milk and 1/2 tsp garlic salt and 3/4 to 1 cup Flour.

Mix all those ingredients together.
Cover an area with flour and roll out dough



Once the dough is fairly thin cut into strips



-Madi used this handy noddle cutting tool...SO COOL-



This noodle recipe can be doubled or tripled depending on the amount of broth.

Broth

4 cups of water
3 celerie sticks
2 cups of carrots
Chicken boloun to taste



Chicken

We used a rotisour chicken to save time.  However, If you have the time I am all for boiling chicken and then shredding it (thats how my mommy taught me)

Cook the broth until the veggies are soft. Add the noodles and allow to cook through (8-10 minutes) the thicker they are cut the longer they take. Then add the chicken and allow to get hot. BAM CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP!!!



Madi and I had fun making our soup....We put on my fun aprons (didn't get a picture sorry) jammed out in the kitchen and had a good time! I love to cook....But I love it more when someone else is doing it with me.

The next treats I am looking forward to making from Grandma Lewis's cook book is Pumpkin Brownies. So many ways you can put my two favorite flavors together!

Cheese & Pumpkins?

Fall is finally hear and I could not be more excited about it. Our summer seemed to go on forever and was way to hot for my liking. So to say the least I was jumping for joy this week when the skys were gray and I could wear my sweaters and scarves. I know I will regret this part of my blog by January but for now I am loving this weather. Fall is here in full force and so is my urge to cook all day every day. I don't know if its all falls fault that I want to cook all day or the fact that is it midterm time and when ever I get stressed I like to cook instead of study...OPPPS!

So for this cozy football filled Sunday... I made quick and easy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bites & Potato, Broccoli, and Cheese Soup. Yesterday I bought a new cook book called 50 Simple Soups for the Slow Cooker.... Because all recipes in the book call for a crockpot I treated myself to a new Fancy Crockpot.The crockpot I have been using for the last couple years is the one I am sure my parent got as a wedding gift in the 80's. So it was time for an upgrade.

Potato, Broccoli, and Cheese Soup

Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 medium onion, coarsely chopped
- 1 large potato, quartered
- 6 cups water
- 1 medium head broccoli, quartered
- 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
- salt to taste
- Sour Cream

Step 1- In a large pan, melt butter over medium heat and saute the onion until lightly brown,
Step 2- Transfer the onion to crockpot and add the potato and water. Cover and cook on LOW for about 6 hours, or until the potato is quite tender. Add the broccoli during the last 30 minutes of cooking.
Step 3 - Using a handheld immersion blender, puree the ingredients to the desired texture. String in the cheese and add the salt to taste.
Step 4 - Ladle the soup into the bowls and garnish each with cream.

With just what the recipe calls for it wasn't as flavorful as i would have hoped for so I added more cheese and some garlic salt and it helped it out. As for next time I would probably add less water to begin with to make it thicker!



-Things got a little messy when I was trying to mix it all up and smash the potato's down-

I served the soup with some garlic bread. This is the perfect meal for cuddleing up on the couch and watching football or whatever your favorite sunday show may be!!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bites

Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 eggs
- 1 egg white
- 1 cup canned pure pumpkin
- 1 tsp vanilla

Preheat over to 350 degrees

Step 1- In a medium bowl, using a whisk, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, caiiamon and all spice
Step 2- In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar, egg and egg white, pumpkin and vanilla.
Step 3- Slowly fold in dry ingredients
Step 4- Add 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
Step 5- Drop spoonfuls of dough on parchment paper lined cookie sheet. (I used an Ice-Cream Scoop instead of a spoon)



Step 6- Bake for 12-14 minutes

These bites are AMAZING. I love Pumpkin flavored things so I was pretty sure I was going to like them..but I LOVE them. They are so fluffy. They may be my new favrotie thing I have ever baked. My Merlot cupcakes have been in the lead until today. You can't go wrong with pumpkin and chocolate.





As for the random name of my blog today you can thank my roommate Madi Lewis....I was lacking a little creativity and this is what she said randomly and we both started laughing and so I decided to just go with it!

Dinner in Ten

Paige and I made the most amazing dinner in under 10 minutes. Who said eating healthy is hard was WRONG! This is a quick easy...and absolutly amazing dinner. On those days where life gets the best of you and you want nothing more than to turn to that extra large cheesy pizza (which I am guilty of) I suggest you make the smarter decision and make this recipe instead.

Less than 10 ingredients for a dinner ready in 10 minutes 

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia 

Ingredients

3 Tilapia Filets
1/4 cup parmesan
3 tablespoons butter
2 tsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1- salt and pepper both sides of Tilapia
2- In a bowl combine cheese, butter, lemon juice, salt and peper to tatse, you may need to microwave the butter to soften it
3- Put Tilapia on cookie sheet sprayer with pam, cover the top with the cheese mixture and broil until its golden brown 5-7 minutes

Got this from Sparkrecipe.com



I served it over 90 second Uncle Sam long grain roasted garlic rice. (EASY WAY OUT) If you have time and want to make better rice I say go for it. However, this tasted amazing!

Peach and Blueberry Cobbler

Ingredients

Nonstick Cooking Spray
4 ripe peaches, pitted and sliced
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/4 cup splenda (plus 2 tablespoons)
3/4 cup Bisquick (plus 1 tablespoon) I did whole wheat
1/4 teaspoon cinaon
1/3 cup skim milk

Directions

1-Preheat over to 425 degrees. Spray a glass baking dish abd spray with cooking spray and set aside
2- In a bowl, mix together the peaches, blueberries, and the 1/4 cup splenda, and the 1 tablespoon baking mix. Pour the fuit mixture into the prepared baking dish.

3- In another bowl, combine the reamaining 2 tablespoons Splenda, the reamining 3/4 cup Bisquick, cinnamon, and milk. Stir another the mixture forms a soft dough. Drop spoonfuls of the dough evenly over the fruit mixture. Sprinkle sugar over dough if you please.

4- Bake the cobbler until the fruit is tender and the biscuit topping is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.




I served with light vanilla ice cream.




This is a recipe worth making again. Healthy, quick, easy....Down right amazing!!

Football Feast

What do you like better Christmas or Wedding Season? Wedding Season!!!  What do you like better Wedding Season or Football Season? Football Season!!! I am so glad that Football Season is finally here. Great way to start the season with a big W and a full belly!



Since I dont have a private jet or a tree that grows money and couldnt fly to Georgia to watch the game I decided to have a little get together at my house and make some amazing football insiped food.


We had enough food to feed an ARMY!!

BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwhiches
Delicious Chicken Dip
Home Made Salsa
Veggie Trays
Margarita Cupcakes

I chose to do BBQ pulled chicken sandwhiches over pulled pork because I had mass amounts of chicken from costco so I figured I would save some money and use what I have...However, I believe you can use the same sauce over pork if you like it better.

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

Ingredients 
1 large onion
6 chicken breasts
2 cups ketchup
4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
pinch or two of black pepper & salt
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon galic powder
1 teaspoon of hot sauce of choice ( I used Sriracha)

Directions
1- Cut the onion in half and slice into think rings. Line the bottom of the crock pot with the onions.
2- Trim the chicken breats and place on top of the bed of onions
3- Mix all ingredients together and por over chicken. Covering completely.
4- Cook for 6 hours on low setting.
5- Take chicken out one at a time and shred them with two forks and place back in crock pot.
6- Serve on buns with toppings of your choice and ENJOY!

This recipe came from food.com I changed a few things up to make it my own.

Delicious Chicken Dip

I got this recipe from a girl I work with. The first time i had this dip I was SOLD! Once you try it you will never go back to regular nacho cheese dip ever again. This dip can be made quickly in the oven or if you have time to spare it works well in the crock pot too.

Ingredients
1 package of cream cheese softened (I used low fat: Neufchatel Cheese)
1/2 cup blue cheese or ranch salad dressing ( I used blue cheese dressing)
1/2 cup any flavor of Franks Redhot Sauce (I used original)
1/2 Crumbled blue cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheddard cheese
2 cans of White Premium Chunk Chicken Breast in water, drained.

Slow Cooker Method
Combine ingredients and place into small crock pot. Cover and heat on high for 1 1/2 hours of low on 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Oven Directions
1- Heat oven to 350 degrees
2- Place cream cheese into deep baking dish and stir until smooth
3- Mix in all other ingredients
4- Bake 20 minutes or until mixture is heated through
5- Serve with your favorite chips. I chose to use Fritos

Thanks Tiffany for this amazing recipe!

In order to get the most amazing recipe for home made salsa you must track down Lauren Jones!!



Last but not least...

Margarita Cupcakes

Ingredients
3/4 cup crushed pretzeld
2 tablespoons butter melted
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons grated lime peel
1 1/4 cups margarita mix (I used the kind with alcohol already in it)
1 BOX white cupcake mix (Make cake mix as directed on box except use 3/4 cup nonalcoholic margarita mix, 1/4 cup water, 1/3 cup vegetable oil)



Or make from scratch
2 3/4 cups flour
3 teasponns baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup shortening or butter
1 2/3 cups sugar
5 egg whites
2 1/2 teasponns vanilla



Frosting
1 1/2 cups thawed whipped topping
2 containers 6oz each Key Lime pie low-fat yogurt
grated lime peel


-Playing with my camera to make the frosting look blue!!

Directions
1-Heat oven to 350 degrees
2- In small bowl mix crushed pretzels, the butter and sugar. Spoon about 1 tablespoon pretzel mizture into each muffin cup.
3- Make cupcakes
4- In bowl fold whipped topping, lime yogurt, and lime peel
5- Frost and top with crushed pretzels.

Due to having people over and the game being on I failed at photos of the dip and my chicken sandwiches. I am very sorry!! I hope to start blogging more about foods other than cupcakes. If you have a favorite food and you want me to try and make it please comment below. I am always looking for a challenge. 

Enjoy Football Season with these yummy foods!

This blog is dedicated to Casey Lish!!!