Cake Mix Recipe

So, you know what's good about being off on Friday's? I get time to blog about baking, and I was able to have time to take pictures while I made them! Here are some yummy Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Cake Mix cookies. Super easy and super delicious!

Inside Stuff:

1 box chocolate cake mix

2 eggs

1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil

1 8 oz bag Reese's Minis

How to:

Preheat oven to 350°

With your mixer, beat together cake mix, oil and eggs until combined.

Pour in entire bag of Reese's Minis.

Mix on low until Reese's are evenly incorporated.

Roll the dough into tablespoon sized balls and place n a parchment lined baking sheet about 2" apart.

Cookies will spread. Bake for 8-9 minutes, however, I like gooey cookies so I baked these for 7 minutes and they were just right!

Enjoy!!!

Oompa Loompa Pie

Oh my goodness... this pie... - I made it for the Christmas party our Sunday school had last night and it was described as being a "stealth" pie. They said when you first look at the pie, you think it's going to taste one way, and then as you taste it you get all these surprises. It was definitely a fun recipe to make.

The original recipe came from cookiesandcups.com and she named it Candy Bar pie, but I didn't like that so I decided I would call it Willy Wonka pie... Well, last night after I discussed this at the table, one of the guys sitting with us said, "You should call it Oompa Loompa pie." Perfect!! You'll see why. :)

Ok, hold on to your seats!!

Crust:
20 Oreos, crushed
2 T. butter, melted
2 T. milk

Filling:
3/4 cup sugar
3 T. cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups whole milk
4 egg yolks
2 Tbsp butter
2 tsp vanilla
3 oz unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup Mini Reese’s Cups or 1/2 cup chopped full size Reese’s
1/2 cup mini marshmallows
2 Milky Way bars, chopped
1/2 9X9 pan of brownies, chopped (approx. 2/3 cup)

Topping:
2 cups Cool Whip
M&Ms

* You can use Jello instant pudding, but please don't! Make the homemade pudding. It makes the pie!!

Instructions:
Crust:
Heat oven to 350 °. Mix your Oreos and melted butter together and press into a 9-inch pie plate. Bake 5 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.

Filling:
In a medium sauce pan whisk together sugar, cornstarch and salt. Whisk in milk and egg yolks until well combined. Place saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly. (You will be standing there for a while, so turn on some music on something!) When mixture comes to a boil, add butter, 1 tablespoon at a time and vanilla. Next add the chocolate a little at a time and whisk until melted. When melted and smooth, remove from heat. Let cool for 10 – 15 minutes and then fold in your Reese’s and marshmallows. Layer your crust with your Milky Way and brownies and then pour pudding mixture on top of that. Cover pie tightly with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for at least 3 hours.

Topping:
When ready to serve, remove the plastic wrap and spread your whipped topping or whipped cream on the pudding. Garnish with your M&Ms. Serve cold. *I used red and green M&M's and made a Christmas tree on top of the Cool Whip.

Sorry, there aren't any pictures. The pie was demolished so quickly, there was no time for pictures. :)

Hope y'all enjoy this one! I sure did. S

Cinnamon Roll Cake

I tried this recipe this morning for my Sunday school class. It was so yummy! Reminded me of when my Meme made cinnamon biscuits! Enjoy!

Cake:

3 c. flour (AP)

1/4 tsp.salt

1 c. sugar

4 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 c. milk

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 c. butter, melted

Topping:

1 c. butter, softened

1 c. brown sugar

2 T. flour (AP)

1 T. cinnamon

Mix everything together except for the butter. Slowly stir in the melted butter and pour into a greased 9x13 pan.

For the topping, mix all the ingredients together until well combined. Drop evenly over the batter and swirl with a knife. Bake at 350 for 28-32 minutes. P0ur glaze on warm cake.

Glaze:

2 c. powdered sugar

5 T. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

Peanut Butter Swirled Snicker Brownies

So, this recipe was a definite first for me... the first time I ever made brownies in a saucepan! Stuff was flying everywhere! I made these delicious goodies for my Sunday school class on Sunday evening. We had our Thanksgiving Lifegroup, (aka small group) and there was a TON of yummy food! Ok, on to the recipe... pretty much copied from Two Peas and Their Pod blog.

Inside stuff:

1 cup butter

2 cups granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 large eggs

3/4 cup dutch processed cocoa

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups chopped Snickers candy bars

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

How to:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

2. Place butter in medium saucepan on the stove. Heat over medium heat until butter is melted. Remove from heat and stir in sugar and vanilla extract. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well with spoon after each addition. Add cocoa; stir until well blended. Add flour, baking powder and salt; stir until combined. Stir in Snickers candy bar chunks. Pour batter into prepared pan.

3. Drop dollops of peanut butter over the batter. Using a knife, swirl peanut butter into brownies. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool brownies completely in pan on a wire rack. Once cool, cut into squares and serve.

*To reduce chance of a mess, I would use a larger saucepan... like the biggest you've got!! Remember... stuff.flying.everywhere!

Enjoy and eat well!!

Tailgating Tuesday: Italian Corn Salsa

I am always on the lookout for exciting new recipes for tailgating, parties, etc. If the word easy comes up, that is icing on the cake. I found the following recipe at plainchicken.com, but I changed it up just a bit. I made it for my Halloween party, and everyone liked it!

Italian Corn Salsa

11 oz can corn, drained
1 can Ro-tel tomatoes, drained
2 cups finely shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 to 1 c. Italian dressing

Dump the corn and tomatoes into a strainer to drain. Transfer to a bowl and mix the veggies together. Add the 2 cups of cheese and mix. Pour a 1/2 cup of dressing over the mixture and see if consistency is too thick. If so, add another 1/4 cup of dressing and check consistency again. Chill for 2 hours up to overnight and serve with tortilla chips or corn chips.

*I used the whole cup of Italian dressing when I made it the first time and found it to be a little "soupy."

Enjoy!! Eat well!

Pumpkin Layer Bars

So with all the "fall" themed baking posts I've seen lately, I decided to try a spicy, pumpkiny dessert. I got the original recipe from shakentogether.blogspot.com. However, it wasn't as sweet as I liked, so you know what happened... Here is my version!

Pumpkin Layer Bars

Go on and preheat your oven child, 350 degrees!

The Bottom Layer stuff:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

1 box yellow cake mix, reserve 1 c. of cake mix for later

2 eggs

- Mix together and spread into bottom of 9X13 prepared baking dish.

- By the way, prepared means greased, just in case ya didn't know!

The Middle Layer stuff:

2 eggs

2/3 c. evaporated milk

large can (30 oz) pumpkin pie mix (couldn't find anything that said pumpkin pie mix so just used the canned pumpkin)

3/4 c. sugar

- Mix together and pour over bottom layer

- By the way, this is layer that needed some sweetness, so oh yes I did!!

The Top Layer stuff:

1 c. reserved cake mix

1/4 c. brown sugar (packed)

1 tsp cinnamon

3 T. butter

-Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until crumbly. Sprinkle over the pumpkin layer.

Now, Bake it baby! Bake at 350 degrees for 40-43 minutes, or until cake is firm and toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Queso Chicken Pasta

I took this recipe to a friend and her family after they had their third child. I do believe it was a hit! I really enjoyed it as well. I hope you do!

Queso Chicken Pasta

8 ounces penne pasta

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1 cup diced onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeno, minced*

1/2 teaspoon cumin*

1/4 teaspoon coriander*

1 tablespoon flour

1 1/3 cup milk, 2% or higher

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons cream cheese

6 ounces colby-jack cheese, divided

1/2 cup drained Ro*Tel tomatoes

2 cups cooked shredded chicken (make it easy on yourself and buy a rotisserie chicken)

* I left out the jalapenos because I don't like a lot of heat, and I didn't have those two spices in the cabinet so I left them out!

Heat the oven to 350 F and spray a medium casserole dish with non-stick spray.
Cook the pasta according to the package directions, but reduce the cooking time by two minutes. In a medium pot heat the oil over medium heat. Once it begins to shimmer add the onion, garlic and peppers. Cook until they begin to soften, about three minutes. Add the cumin, coriander and salt and cook for an additional two minutes, or until the spices become fragrant. Add the flour and cook for three minutes, stirring constantly, until all the flour is moist. Gradually whisk in the milk and stir until smooth. Bring the mixture to a simmer and allow to thicken. Turn off the heat and add the cream cheese and 4 ounces of the shredded cheese and whisk until melted. Stir in the Ro*Tel tomatoes. Pour the pasta into the prepared casserole dish, stir in the shredded chicken and sauce. Top with the remaining shredded cheese. Bake 20 to 30 minutes, or until the pasta is bubbly and the cheese has melted. Let stand five minutes before serving. Enjoy!