Ashlee In Action

White Chocolate Cheesecake with Strawberries

2011-03-05T16:35:00.001-08:00

First attempt at blogging from my phone AND making a cheesecake! Will update with photos and a recipe once it's finished!

Pumpkin Oreo Cheesecake Bites

2010-10-25T15:45:00.000-07:00

I have these in the oven right now.... They were VERY easy to put together. (I'm omitting the last steps where you top with whipped cream and sprinkles. I'm sure it would be good, but I'm just feeling like something quick and easy right now.) I only wish I had two muffin pans. It would make my life much easier. I guess that's going on my Christmas list. As is another bowl... (See bottom of this post.)

Pumpkin Oreo Cheesecake
from Inside BruCrew Life

2-8 oz pkgs. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 tbsp. sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. canned pumpkin
oreos
whipped cream

Preheat oven to 350* Place cupcake liners in a muffin pan. Beat the cream cheese until creamy. Add the sugar and cream again. Add the eggs one at a time beating after each one. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat again. Place one whole oreo in the bottom of the cupcake liners and fill up the liner 3/4 full with the cheesecake batter. Push another whole oreo into the top of the batter. Bake for 20-22 minutes. Cool in pan for 15-20 min before removing and placing on a wire rack to finish cooling. Keep refrigerated. Top with whipped cream and oreo sprinkles before serving. Makes 24.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Carmel Frosting

2010-10-25T15:24:00.000-07:00

Stop what you are doing right now and GO MAKE THESE CINNAMON ROLLS!!!!!!!!!

They are THAT GOOD!!!!

I made them for a bake sale at work, and haven't heard a complaint yet. :) I saved a few "ugly" ones for myself and it was the best breakfast I've had in a while! They are pumpkin-y, but not over the top. If you're looking for something different, this is definitely it.

I will be making these for years and years to come--no joke!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Carmel Frosting
The Girl Who Ate Everything
(my notes in green)

1/3 cup milk

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg, beaten

1 (1/4 ounce) package dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons if you use yeast in a jar)

2 cups bread flour (you can use regular all purpose flour (I did!!) but bread flour makes them lighter)

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons melted butter

CARAMEL FROSTING

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

2 tablespoons milk

1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 dash salt

3/4 cup sifted confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. In small saucepan, heat milk and 2 tablespoons butter just until warm and butter is almost melted, stirring constantly. (I did this in the microwave and it worked just fine.) In large mixer bowl, combine pumpkin, sugar, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Add milk mixture and beat with electric mixer until well mixed. Beat in egg and yeast.

2. Add half of the flour to pumpkin mixture. Beat mixture on low speed 5 minutes, scraping sides of bowl frequently. Add remaining flour and mix thoroughly (dough will be very soft (VERY!!)). Turn into lightly greased bowl, then grease surface of dough lightly. (I just sprayed my bowl with non-stick cooking spray, then sprayed the top of the dough a little bit.)

3. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. (I like to run a kitchen towel under really hot water, ring it out, then place it over the bowl. This keeps some heat inside the bowl and helps the dough rise.) Punch dough down. Spray a surface with cooking spray or turn onto floured surface. Knead a few turns to form a smooth dough, sprinkling with enough additional flour to make dough easy enough to handle. (I used a ton of flour to knead the dough--just keep adding flour until it's not as sticky and makes a nice smooth ball of dough.) Roll dough into 12x10 inch rectangle.

4. In small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Brush surface of dough with melted butter. (I've tried both ways, but it's much easier to just spread on butter out of a tub-just like you're spreading it on a piece of bread. I don't notice a difference.) Sprinkle with brown sugar mixture. Beginning with long side of dough (I think I began with the short side... whoops!), roll up jellyroll style. Pinch seam to seal. With sharp knife, cut roll into 12 1- inch slices. Place rolls, cut side up, in greased 11X17 inch square baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, 30 to 45 minutes. (Mine was definitely closer to 45. Maybe even an hour.)

5. Bake rolls at 350 degrees about 15-20 minutes or until golden. Remove from pan to waxed paper-lined wire rack. Cool 10 to 15 minutes. Drizzle with Caramel frosting. Makes 12 rolls.

Caramel Frosting:

In small saucepan, heat butter until melted. Stir in brown sugar and milk.

Stir in brown sugar and milk. Cook over medium low heat 1 minute.

Transfer to small mixer bowl and cool mixture. Stir in vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and confectioners' sugar. Beat with electric mixer until well blended. If necessary, add more confectioners' sugar for desired consistency.

Note: When making the frosting, try not to knock over your bowl, spilling sticky carmel sauce all over your kitchen rug and cracking your bowl in half.... Just sayin...

Cinnamon Butter Puffs

2010-09-19T06:59:00.000-07:00

This recipe comes from my mom. I'm not sure where she originally got it, but these are one of the things I always remember her making when I was younger. They are my dad's favorite breakfast item and our whole family always fights over who gets the last ones! My sisters and were always quick to tally up who had how many so no one would get more than the other! :) They are so good and very easy to make!!

Cinnamon Butter Puffs

1/3 c. shortening

½ c. sugar

1 egg

1 ½ c. flour

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. nutmeg

½ cup milk

Topping:

½ c. butter, melted

½ c. sugar combined with 1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat Oven 350 degrees.

Put shortening, sugar and egg in a mixing bowl. Beat well. Mix together flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg and add to the first mixture. Pour in the milk and beat until blended and smooth. (I usually “alternate” the flour and milk until I use it all versus putting all of flour in and then all of milk in).

Fill muffins 2/3 full. Bake about 20 minutes (depending on your oven). For topping – as soon as puffs are done, remove from pan and dip the tops, one by one into melted butter and then dip in cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Makes about 12.

Chocolate Cobbler

2010-05-31T18:27:00.001-07:00

I made this tonight and it was amazing. I was a little weirded out by the way you make it, but it worked and was so easy!! Basically you make a batter (similar to a brownie or chocolate cake batter) and pour/spread it into your pan. Next, you mix up some brown sugar, sugar, and cocoa powder and sprinkle that on top. Then, you just pour 1 1/2 cups of hot tap water on top of everything (without stirring it up!) and put it in the oven for 40 minutes. It comes out like a brownie with a crunchy top oozing with this chocolate lava. SO GOOD!!! We didn't have any ice cream, but it would be amazing with some vanilla ice cream right on top!! I'll definitely be making this again!

Chocolate Cobbler
by Susan Hawkins at Tasty Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 cup All-purpose Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
¼ teaspoons Salt
7 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder, Divided
1-¼ cup Sugar, Divided
½ cups Milk
⅓ cups Melted Butter
1-½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
½ cups Light Brown Sugar, Packed
1-½ cup Hot Tap Water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

First stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, 3 tablespoons of the cocoa, and 3/4 cup of the white sugar. Reserve the remaining cocoa and sugar.

Stir in the milk, melted butter, and vanilla to the flour mixture. Mix until smooth.

Pour the mixture into an ungreased 8-inch baking dish. I prefer my small oval Corning Ware glass dish.

In a separate small bowl, mix the remaining white sugar (it should be 1/2 cup), the brown sugar, and remaining 4 tablespoons of cocoa. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the batter.

Pour the hot tap water over all. DO NOT STIR!

Bake for about 40 minutes or until the center is set.

Let stand for a few minutes if you can hold yourself back. Serve with homemade ice cream using the gooey sauce to spoon over all.

If I were throwing a LOST party...

2010-05-23T15:03:00.000-07:00

...this is what I would do:

1. Decorate the front door with the Dharma symbol, like you're walking into The Hatch.

2. Plaster all the foods with Dharma labels... Dharma crackers, chips, beer, beans, peanut butter, etc.

3. Have buckets full of airplane-sized liquor bottles, just for the occasion.

4. Make airplane shaped cookies and make yummy flavored cupcakes simply decorated with "the numbers." Also, possibly a coconut cake (in keeping with the "island" theme!) decorated with the Dharma symbol.

5. Use this as inspiration for my invites.

6. Serve KFC buckets of chicken, but replace the labels with Mr. Cluck's Fried Chicken.

7. Crank up the Drive Shaft (and other LOST-themed music)--until LOST starts, that is. The second it starts, everyone has to cover their mouths with duct tape! :)

8. Each guest picks up a lottery ticket at the door, and at the end, we draw numbers for a door prize (possibly a stuffed polar bear??).

9. This is out there, but maybe try to rig up a simple command-line program that asks for the numbers every 108 minutes. Run it in a full-screen green-on-black terminal window and cover your return key with the word "execute." I'd definitely need some help with that one. HA!

10. Have some games set up like Backgammon, Connect Four, etc.

11. Black and white stones everywhere.

Any more ideas??? I know this is super last minute, seeing how the whole shebang starts in about 30 minutes, but still!! If any of you guys went to a LOST party, let me know how it was!! If I had enough friends around here who actually watch LOST, I would have totally thrown this party! But sadly, I don't. :(

Mac & Cheese, Round Two

2010-03-27T20:11:00.001-07:00

You may remember my post about the secret to making the best mac & cheese. (You can find it here.) Well, I tried out a different recipe tonight and it was just as good--if not better. I used Monterrey Jack cheese (bought in a block and shredded myself) which gave it a little kick. And when I say little, I mean little--Matt didn't think it was spicy at all and I could taste the spice, but didn't think it was spicy if that makes sense. It also uses Worcestershire sauce which I thought was interesting. It didn't take too long to make, but there were a lot more steps than the other recipe, where you basically throw everything into a pot until it thickens up. I will have to try out my original recipe with Monterrey Jack cheese before I decide which one I truly like the best. We shall see. In the meantime, here is the recipe (my notes in italics). If you're stuck in a mac & cheese rut, try this--you won't be disappointed!

One other thing: I did not bake it at the end. For one, I am too impatient and I was hungry! Second, I don't always like the taste of baked mac & cheese. If you like it baked, then go for it!

Ooey Gooey Mac and Cheese
by digitalgrrl on Tasty Kitchen

Ingredients:

2 cups Uncooked Elbow Pasta (I used shells-I love how they fill up with sauce! Yum!)
¼ cups Butter
¼ cups Flour
½ teaspoons Salt
¼ teaspoons Pepper
¼ teaspoons Ground Mustard
¼ teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
2 cups Milk
2 cups Shredded Cheese (I used Monterrey Jack)

Instructions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. (I skipped this step.)

Cook pasta and drain.

Melt butter in saucepan over low heat. (I made the sauce as the pasta was cooking and it worked out to about the same time for each--the pasta cooked a little faster, but it was fine to just sit there for a minute (I added a bit of oil so it wouldn't clump up) while I finished the sauce.)

Stir in flour, salt, pepper, ground mustard and Worcestershire sauce.

Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and bubbly; remove from heat.

Stir in milk.

Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. (This takes a while, just like the other recipe, but you will know when it's finished--one minute it's thin and the next second it's really thick. You will know.)

Boil and stir for 1 minute.

Add cheese. Cook and stir until cheese is melted.

Stir pasta into cheese sauce.

(Again, I skipped this last step, but feel free to bake it if you wish. It definitely won't hurt anything. If you're impatient like me, just dish it up and enjoy!)

Pour into ungreased baking dish (I like to use to use my Pyrex 2 qt. round baking dish. It seems to dry out if you use a more shallow dish.)

Add some extra shredded cheese to cover top.

Bake uncovered for about 25 minutes, until bubbly.

Broil for a few minutes, until cheese on top browns.

New Stuff...

2010-03-27T11:46:00.000-07:00

First things first. I added a "Find Me" section on the right side of my blog. Right under the "About Me" section. See it?? Click on either of the three pictures to find me on Facebook, Twitter, or subscribe to my RSS feed! It's that easy!!

Second, I decided to add Google Ads to see if I can maybe make some money off this little ol' blog. I doubt I will, but it doesn't hurt to try I guess! So if you feel so inclined, click away on all the little ads you see everywhere. :)

Hopefully I'll be back soon with something new for you to try! I have something in mind, but I just made it and didn't take any pictures, so we'll have to wait until I make it again! Good news is, it's sooo good that it won't take long! :)

Happy Weekend!

Strawberry Cookies

2010-03-20T18:43:00.000-07:00

My sister posted these today on her blog and I immediately got up and made them! I have had a strawberry cake mix sitting in my pantry for who knows how long (I had dreams of making chocolate covered strawberry cake balls but just never got around to it.) and this was the perfect thing to use it for! Go check her blog out and make these cookies!! I've actually made these with a chocolate cake mix and a fun-fetti cake mix also and they were amazing too! THE simplest cookie ever!

Rainbow Cupcakes

2010-03-16T20:28:00.001-07:00

These are so cute! And EASY! Even though it looks hard!! :) I would say they are a bit time consuming, but really not too bad at all. All you do is prepare a regular boxed white cake mix, separate it into 6 bowls, then use food coloring to color each bowl red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. Then, spoon batter into cupcake liners (which are obviously already in your muffin pan... duh...) one color at a time. Make sure to use the back of a spoon to spread each color out evenly over the color under it--so you will be able to see the rainbow from the side of the cupcake. Super easy, just takes a little time to do the spreading.

My head is spinning with ideas, here.

Easter would be great! Just make the colors lighter, more pastel--maybe only use blue, yellow and pink? OR make all the colors, but only use three colors per cupcake, switching it up each time.

And, after KENTUCKY wins (or heck, even before...) I'm thinking some KY blue and white striped cupcakes are in order! :) Or even just the blue cupcakes with white frosting.

Hmm... the possibilities are literally endless. Especially for the sports fan. My sister Brooke would die over some purple and yellow Laker's cupcakes!

I still haven't iced these cupcakes yet--I was originally going to go with a whipped cream frosting, but then I realized the cupcakes would be sitting out all day tomorrow and that probably wouldn't work too well--the same goes for Cream Cheese frosting. I still haven't totally decided, but I'm thinking maybe The Pioneer Woman knew I would be in this prediciment and posted THIS especially for me... :) I'll let you know how it goes!

PS: Even the wrapper looks cool, doesn't it?!?!

Epiphanie

2010-03-06T17:38:00.000-08:00

I know it's not what this site is all about, but I just entered an amazing giveaway and wanted you all to have the chance to do the same. Go here for all the details. Basically, you can win either a brand spanking new Canon 5D Mark II (amazing!!!) OR a $2500 giftcard to Southwest Airlines!!! SUCH a hard decision, but I would pick the Southwest giftcard! So go HERE and follow the directions to enter all the ways you can! Maybe you'll win! But if you do, I'd really like plane tickets to Hawaii..... just sayin... :) Good luck!

It's been a while...

2010-03-04T19:43:00.000-08:00

but here's a picture to tide you over! :) My Grandma e-mailed me this picture today. She said it was the start of my career! :) It is of me crushing up crackers to make salmon patties--which used to be the one thing I always wanted when we went to visit my Grandparents. I don't think I could eat them now, though. They don't sound very appealing! I have a few posts coming up, I just have to find the time to put the pictures on the computer and type the post out. I know I promised my big homemade marshmallow post back around Christmas... I'll get to it sooner or later!

New Cookbook

2010-01-10T11:21:00.002-08:00

Just bought this cookbook yesterday (on clearance at TJMaxx for $3.50!) and it was worth every penny!! Chocolate chips are some of my favorite ingredients--I ALWAYS have them in my pantry. Besides that, all of these recipes are easy to make and all the ingredients can easily be found in a well-stocked pantry. I will definitely be on the lookout for more of her cookbooks! Some things I'm looking forward to making from this one: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars, Strawberry and White Chocolate Chip Cheesecake, Hot Chocolate Chip Brownie Sundae Cake, & Chocolate Banana Whipped Cream Trifle. YUM!

Click on the picture for a link to the book on Amazon.

Change of Clothes

2009-12-29T20:31:00.000-08:00

My blog has had a change of clothes... if you read from a reader, click on over and check it out! I did it all myself, so hopefully it works out okay on everyone's sizes of screens! Let me know if something looks funny and I'll try to fix it! Good comments are also appreciated! :)

Next post...

Pictures of all my new {kitchen-related} Christmas goodies! :)

More Photoshop...

2009-12-29T19:50:00.001-08:00

I just finished two more scrapbook pages for my favorite recipes! Enjoy! (Click on the recipe name to bring up the original recipe and click on the picture to bring up a bigger version so you can see it better!)

French Toast & Bacon Cupcakes

Star-Studded Mini-Pie Bites

Merry Christmas...

2009-12-24T09:16:00.001-08:00

I Want This!!!!

2009-12-18T19:16:00.000-08:00

I already have a rolling pin, but how cool is this?!?!?! It's in my latest issue of Real Simple.

It's a rolling pin that comes with these little discs you attach to the side to help you roll your dough out to exactly 1/16 inches, or whatever measurement your recipe calls for. I mean, how many people do you know who can really eyeball their measurements to 1/4" thick??? Not me, I always pull out a ruler to make sure. It comes with 8 discs (2 of each measurement-one for each side) in 1/16", 1/8", 1/4", and 3/8". I also love how it has marks on the rolling pin so you know how wide your dough is. Next time you need a 12" round/1/4" thick pic crust, you will wish you had one of these!!! :)

Giveaway!!

2009-12-09T18:07:00.001-08:00

Nope, not me.... but a few other blogs are giving away an HP TouchSmart computer!! Go HERE to read about all FIVE blogs doing the giveaway and what you have to do to enter! I can definitely vouch for HP because I absolutely love my brand new wireless Photosmart Printer/Copier/Scanner! I especially loved the 50% off price on Black Friday at Best Buy! :)

THANK YOU BlogHer & HP!

Here are the FIVE blogs where you can get a chance to win:

KellysKorner
TotallyTogetherReviews
Mckgiveaways
NieNieReviews
BooMama

By the way, since this IS a cooking blog and all...

the best feature about this computer is that it's so smart that you can have a recipe brought up and it will read it outloud to you as you are cooking so you don't have to keep running over to your computer to see what to do next!!! It also has an awesome recipe organizing feature that I would LOVE to try out!! Here's a sneak at how I usually bake--and where my laptop sits. Do you think I need this new awesome HP Touchscreen?????? :)

A Few More Things...

2009-12-06T13:47:00.000-08:00

I was just browsing the Anthropologie kitchen section and came across a couple of cute and not-as-expensive-as-a-$200-dress things I would l.o.v.e. to have so I just thought I'd share. All images are linked!

Aren't these the cutest aprons?? They have tons and even though I already have a really cute apron (thanks Alissa!!) I think I may start collecting them just so I can have all of these too!! I love that cute black and white one!! (middle bottom)

How cute is this ceramic egg crate!?!?! It's too pretty to use for eggs, so I would use it as a jewelry organizer just like Sherry over at Young House Love. (See it in action here!) And it's really not all that expensive if you ask me.

I'm loving this Blackbird Pie Vent. If you've seen Alton Brown's Apple Pie episode (start watching around 6:00. This is the second half of the episode, but watch this part so you see what I mean), you know this is the only way to bake a pie! :) I've actually never seen these out-and-about so I was super excited to see it on here--and it's only $8!

I love, love, love their selection of measuring cups/spoons! They are all sooo cute and amazing! You would never know these were measuring spoons until you looked closely. (Each picture is linked so you can zoom in and see up close where the measurements are marked--so cute!)

I feel like if I get all this awesome kitchen stuff I'll definitely need this towel! :) I love how the words are stacks of dishes--click on the link to zoom in and see for yourself! Thankfully, I have an amazing boyfriend who more-times-than-not takes care of all the dishes, even when I bake! :)

Tres Leches Cake

2009-12-05T20:18:00.001-08:00

I used The Pioneer Woman's recipe for this and boy was it gooood!! And you know what? It was super easy, too. MUCH easier than I thought it was going to be! The only issue I had was that it used a couple of ingredients I don't normally have on hand (like evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and heavy cream) but I remembered to pick them up when I was at the store and I may be incorporating them into my weekly shopping list just for this cake!! Ha! If you've never made this kind of cake before, it is different than anything else. It's very spongy and moist-but not mushy, if that makes sense. You really need to try it. Plus, it has homemade whipped cream, so you know it's not bad. And please, PLEASE, whatever you do, do NOT use Cool Whip for this!!!!!! Promise me!!! Here is the recipe with step by step instructions (and a printable at the end-gotta love the Pioneer Woman!) and below I've included a couple of pictures.

Caramel Apple Cider Cookies

2009-12-05T10:06:00.001-08:00

These cookies were soooo yummy---right from the oven. Once they cooled off, I didn't like them as much. Matt still thought they were pretty good, but they were definitely a totally different cookie vs. eating them while they were still warm. Most of this has to do with the caramel in the middle of the cookie. If the cookies are cooled off, so is the caramel and it's hard and chewy as opposed to melted and gooey. I'm honestly not a big fan of caramel anyway, so maybe you just need to try these out for yourself! (Side note: The recipe does say that you can place a cookie on the top of a mug of a hot drink for a few minutes and the steam from the drink will re-melt the caramel. We didn't have any hot drinks to try this out on, but give it a shot!) They were so much easier than I expected--the hardest part was unwrapping all the apple cider packets and all the caramels! Give them a try!

The recipe can be found here.

I can't for the life of me find the pictures I took of these cookies, but when I do, I'll post them!

Oreo Cookie Truffle Balls

2009-12-01T18:26:00.001-08:00

These were great! And super easy--a lot easier than I thought they would be! I don't have a food processor so I just put all the Oreos in a ziploc bag and crushed them with my rolling pin. It reminded me of making salmon patties in my Grandma's kitchen as a kid--crushing up those crackers! :) I know there is a picture of me doing it--if anyone has it and could email it to me, I'll post it on here! :)

Basically all you do is take a package of Oreos (I used the Peanut Butter Cream ones), crush them up very fine, mix in a package of cream cheese (I used my hands--much easier than a spoon!), then let it sit in the fridge for a few hours to firm up. After that, just roll into balls and dip into melted chocolate! These would be great with any Oreo-chocolate combination! Think mint Oreos with white chocolate! Or you could use white chocolate and tint it different colors for the Holidays! The possiblities are endless! :)

You can find the recipe here.

Coming Up...

2009-11-21T13:29:00.000-08:00

-Oreo Cookie Truffle Balls
-Carmel Apple Cider Cookies
-Tres Leches Cake

Get excited! :)

The Secret...

2009-11-01T18:15:00.001-08:00

...to making the creamiest macaroni & cheese:

(drum roll, please...)

BOIL YOUR NOODLES IN MILK!

Not kidding. Super easy, too.

3 cups milk
2 1/2 cups noodles (any kind)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup cheese (any kind)
Mustard powder (optional-just use a couple of shakes. The Pioneer Woman used this in her mac & cheese recipe and it's surprisingly good, so we added some in ours tonight.)

Put the milk, noodles, and salt into a medium-sized sauce pan and cook on medium-high for about ten minutes--stirring pretty much constantly so the milk doesn't burn. Different noodles will cook at different times, so just watch/taste it until you know they're finished. Near the end when the milk is getting thick, add in the mustard powder. Take off heat, add in cheese, and stir until it's all melted and gooey. :) YUM!

A couple of notes...

-You don't need to let the milk come to a boil before you add in the noodles like you would if you were using water. Just put it all in the pot cold and stick it on the burner.
-We used regular old shredded mozzarella, but we're definitely using something different next time. That was all we had in the fridge. Next time, we'll use something sharper, with more flavor. Maybe a sharp cheddar or something. Experiment with what you have/like. You really can't go wrong--this is so easy.
-This may even be easier than the boxed stuff. *gasp* It definitely tastes better!!!

Can't leave you without a picture. I'm only 4 away from being finished with my second box. :) LOVE these things!

Christmas Wish List

2009-10-25T13:23:00.000-07:00

As someone who loves all things baking, I have quite a few kitchen-related things on my Christmas list. Or anytime list, for that matter. :) Here are a few things I've had my eye on for quite some time.

First off, any of these would be amazing. Here is a little collab I put together of the "bigger" things I'd want the most, but I would definitely enjoy any of the pink KitchenAid items. A couple of things to note: I already own the measuring cups/spoons (thanks Brooke!!) and I already have an awesome apron (thanks Alissa & Brooke!) Also, all of these things are way cheaper on the Target website. Of course if I could have anything in the whole world, it would be the pink KitchenAid artisan stand mixer with all the attachments, but it's pretty darn expensive so I don't have high expectations on actually getting it. If you really want to surprise me, though....... :)

Click image for a bigger look. All prices are kitchenaid.com prices.
As I said before, they are a lot cheaper at Target.com.

Here are a couple of other things I've been wanting for a while now.

This is obviously very expensive, but I've heard you can get a good sized piece of marble from a tile place and put those grippers on the bottom and wha-la, your very own (much cheaper!) version! So if anyone knows any good tile/countertop places with some good sized scraps...

Another cheap thing (if anyone knows anyone who's getting rid of a bunch or just has a ton sitting around that they'd like to get off their hands) is mason jars. All shapes and sizes. I have a few and use them all the time--for storage, food, iced coffee, etc. The possibilities are endless.

I've seen this at Target a few times and had to really stop myself from buying it! I've never seen a pink one before and I've always wanted a French Press!

Also from Target, one of the few types of pots/pans that I don't have are stockpots. I've always wished I had some but somehow gotten by using something else instead.

Another thing I'd like to have. I've seen this in the store, but I'm not sure if it's the same one or not. I definitely like the one in the store though. Not sure how much I'd use it, but I have found a ton of recipes that go by weight instead of cup/tsp/tbsp and instead of tossing them out, I'd like to give them a go. Plus, Alton says it's the only way to measure!! :)

I would definitely love these. And get rid of all my cheap pots and pans that were like $20 for a huge set at Target. Plus, they're pink. :) They have this set in the stores, too.

Cookbook-wise, I have a running list on the right side of my blog. I realllly want Alton's new one. It's the first of a three-piece set he's doing and it goes through every episode from Seasons 1-6 (the 2nd book will do Seasons 7-12, the 3rd 13-current, I'm assuming.) and talks about each episode, giving behind the scenes info and a recipe or two from each. I browsed through it at Barnes & Noble one day and it looks awesome. It's expensive though, which is why I haven't bought it yet! I also think The Pioneer Woman's would be awesome to have. I've made a ton of her recipes and they're all great!

Okay, I'm finished typing for now. Hope you all enjoyed. There may just be a part two in the near future... :)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies & Pumpkin "Pie" Potpourri

2009-10-24T20:55:00.000-07:00

Just made these.

In the oven.

Batter was amazing.

Can't wait to eat them.

Matt doesn't like pumpkin.

ALL MINE! :)

Also just made this with a pumpkin I bought at the Farmer's Market today.

It is also amazing.

Smells wonderful. (I used cinnamon.)

Super easy (and fun!) with the help of Matt's drill & 1/2" bit!

Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes

2009-09-20T19:46:00.000-07:00

These were goooooood!! :) I've got to get to bed so I'm going to make this quick, but these were very very good. And really easy. If you like Oreo's, make these. It's that simple. :) Also, there are two new posts below this that you've got to check out if you haven't seen them yet. So scroll down. :) Recipe can be found here. Forgive me for not even getting a picture of these, but if you follow the link to the blog I got the recipe from, you'll see some really good pictures of them. I wouldn't have even posted this recipe, but they were so good that I felt you guys needed to know about them! :)

French Toast & Bacon Cupcakes

2009-09-20T19:33:00.001-07:00

The second thing I made for our friend's cookout were these cupcakes. He is a HUGE fan of anything bacon so when I found these, I knew without a doubt that they were the perfect thing to bring. I loved the french toast concept, but I was a little scared about how they would taste with the bacon. I'm not going to lie--they were pretty awesome. If you're ever looking for a weird, conversation-piece food item to bring to a party, bring these. They were SUCH a hit. Everyone loved them. Seriously--I didn't hear a single bad thing about these cupcakes-and I expected to hear a LOT! I mean, bacon? In a cupcake?? But trust me, it works. And the bacon on top just adds to a cute presentation. I found the recipe here. Enjoy! :)

Without Icing (See the bacon chunks??)

With Icing

The insides :)

THIS is how good they were! :) He's going to kill me for this picture. Haha!

Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes

2009-09-20T18:30:00.000-07:00

I'm back!! Finally!! Sorry it's been so long, but I'm back and with two new things! :) I have to admit, this apartment kitchen is horrible. Absolutely NO counter space and the oven is old and not what I'm used to. But I'm learning to deal with it. Anyway, I'm splitting these up into two posts to make things easier.

First up are the Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes. I made these for a friend's Labor Day cookout. He loves Guinness, so Matt and I thought these would be perfect for him. For those who aren't familiar, Guinness is a type of really dark beer, also known as a "stout." It has a very malty flavor. If you're really trying to imagine this flavor in your head, go with chocolaty/coffee notes. Anyway, it's a good beer. Not some red-neck light beer. Either way, these cupcakes taste nothing like beer at all. As one blog I read explained it, they taste like chocolate... but different. That's a perfect way to put it.

From what Matt says, it's really all about the malt in the beer that helps the cupcakes stay so moist--and they are very moist!! These were soooo good! I used a chocolate cream cheese icing on them and boy were they a hit. EVERYONE loved these cupcakes!! And they were insanely easy to make, too. Even in my kitchen! I definitely recommend that you try them out. Enjoy the pictures!

Without Icing
With Icing

Sorry, I don't have the best pictures of these, but trust me-they were amazing! I used Nigella Lawson's recipe which I found here for the cupcakes and I used a simple chocolate cream cheese icing which was just 8oz cream cheese, 3/4 cup powdered sugar, and 2 tablespoons cocoa powder all mixed together with my trusty hand mixer. Super easy!

Starbucks

2009-07-16T15:03:00.000-07:00

This is what my freezer looks like:

Gotta love it! :) I absolutely love the lids on these ice cream containers. I love how it looks like you can see through them to the ice cream. Plus, I'm a sucker for great close-up food photography. :)

I bought the Hot Chocolate one because it looked good. It tasted good, too, but it's not really my kind of ice cream so I probably wouldn't buy it again. My favorite is the Java Chip. It's literally amazing. Matt loves the Carmel Macchiato-he says it tastes exactly like the drink. Believe me, if he says something is good, it's good. He's usually one of those "It's okay." "I'll eat it." "There's nothing wrong with it, it's just not my favorite." kind of guys and he really likes this ice cream. I didn't try it because I don't like carmel, but if you like the drink, you need to try this ice cream! Matt says! :)

PS: These were on sale at my Walmart for $2.50 each and I used THIS $1 off coupon, making this normally expensive ice cream only $1.50/pint! You can print the coupon twice per computer--just hit the back button after the first one prints and the second one will start printing!

PPS: I don't know how much posting I will get around to in the next few weeks. We are moving to Nashville tomorrow and won't have internet for a while. I plan on using the free WiFi at Panera and anywhere else we can find it, but who knows how often that will be. Hopefully Matt will find a job and/or I will find a better job soon so we can afford internet!! Haha!

5th of July

2009-07-08T19:07:00.001-07:00

Since we had a major storm July 4th, the Murray fireworks were postponed until July 5th. I love anything that makes the holidays last longer, so it was okay with me! :) I also decided to wait until the 5th to make my 4th of July goodies! These were soooo soooooooo good! I can't even tell you how great they were. I didn't actually try any of the apple (and just fyi: the apple were supposed to be blueberry, in keeping with the red, white, & blue theme, but neither of us would have eaten them so I opted for apple instead--Matt's favorite.) but the cherry ones were so insanely good I made them again the next day because we ate them all!!

I made the pie crust from scratch which realllly isn't hard to do AT ALL--especially with these instructions. I LOVE this website because they are so great at explaining things and making things seem so simple (and they ARE!).

Now, onto the goodies! :) First off, like I said earlier, I really suggest making your own pie crust. It's not as hard as you think and I've literally made it three times since I made it the first time. And that was only 4 days ago!! Get yourself some butter-flavored shortening and have a ball! The ladies over at Our Best Bites have a GREAT tutorial for a really awesome, easy, and basically fool proof pie crust. Please try it out!

Secondly, the first time around, I made all of the tops stars for the 4th... errr, 5th... of July. The second time around, my creativity got the best of me and I couldn't wait to do something else with them. Something cute, fun, and awesome. Well, as you can see, they didn't turn out as well. Matt suggested that I try to lattice some of them like a regular pie. These were really cute--but SUPER time consuming. Cutting out mini-circles, cutting those circles into strips, dipping each strip (one. at. a. time.) into butter, then into sugar, then finally getting onto the mini-pie. Then, trying to pull every other strip back without getting red cherry sauce all over your fingers, going to wash your fingers because you're too OCD to get the strips all cherry-fied, and repeating all over again and again. Not fun. But very cute. So you might want to try it. Once. Then you'll see. :) A couple other things I tried were hearts (these worked great--just as good as the stars), letters (A for Ashlee, M for Matthew, etc. These worked, but not the best. They were kind of too big.) and then my wonderful helper decided he just wanted to get them done as fast as he could so he just balled up dough, dipped it in butter and sugar (he even threw some cinnamon in there. Props for that one.) and threw it on top. Those are the ugly ones you'll see in the pictures. Not mine. His. Not mine. Just so everyone knows.

And without further ado... here's the link to the recipe and the pictures I took of mine. She explains it a lot better than I ever could. And has good pictures. :) Enjoy!

Star-Studded Mini Pies

Apple-filled

Cherry-filled (yum!)

Close-up of one of the stars

The random ones we did.

Close-up of the lattice ones. Cute, huh?

Don't Get Used To This!!

2009-06-25T17:47:00.000-07:00

I know, I know! Three posts in three days!! Crazy, huh? :)

I bought some bananas the other day knowing that a few of them would get mushy so I could make these. I stumbled across this recipe on FoodGawker (LOVE this site!! SO much inspiration!!) and couldn't wait to try it out! It's the perfect recipe for mushy bananas--so often we just make banana bread and call it a day. But next time you're in the mushy banana pickle, make these! I promise you won't regret it!!

I changed the recipe up a little (my version is the one seen below) because I was out of oatmeal. I just omitted that, then upped the flour a little. These were amazing! Different from your average (but still amazing!) chocolate chip cookie, yet also different from your average banana bread... I swear these cookies taste just like banana bread-in cookie form-plus chocolate chips. Tell me your mouth's not watering just thinking about it!

I took some pictures, but they basically look just like chocolate chip cookies so there's nothing special there. And I don't feel like getting up to get my camera to upload them. I ate so many of these cookies, I'm just plain lazy at the moment. :) But here's the recipe for you all to enjoy. Let me know if you try it!

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
original recipe found here.

2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup softened unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe banana (two good-sized bananas)
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. In a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined. Add half the flour mixture, mix, and then add the banana and mix. Add the rest of the flour mixture and mix until combined. Mix in chocolate chips.

Drop tablespoon-sized balls onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake in the preheated oven for 12 to 14 minutes, rotating halfway through.

Makes about 3 1/2 dozen cookies (mine made a whole lot less, because I like to make huge cookies!! But make yours the size you like--either way, they'll taste great! Just watch them in the oven to make sure they don't burn!)

As Promised...

2009-06-24T19:15:00.001-07:00

A recipe you don't have to turn on any appliances to make--not even the microwave! SUPER easy--and fun because you get to get messy! :) I'm sure for you non-messy types, you could use a spoon, but it's much more fun this way! These would be great to make with the kiddos, or even as a fun date night with your man (or woman!). And, by the way, they taste great!

"What are they?" you ask?? No-Bake Oatmeal Cookie Balls. They channel those glorious no-bake chocolate oatmeal cookies, but aren't exactly like them. For one, they're in ball form and covered in powdered sugar. Also, as I stated earlier, you don't cook them--with the no-bake cookies, you boil all the ingredients on the stove before you add in the oatmeal. With these, you just throw all the ingredients in a bowl and mush together with your hands, shape them into balls, and roll in powdered sugar. Easy as that! I've kept mine in the fridge ever since and they're still good today. I like them cold. I'm not sure how they would work being kept out of the fridge-I know they would melt in my apartment so I'm not even going to try! Let me know how you like them!

No-Bake Oatmeal Cookie Balls

2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup butter, softened (definitely make sure it's soft, or you won't be able to squish it all together!)
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1 cup confectioners' sugar

In a large bowl, combine the oats, sugar and cocoa. With clean hands, mix in the water, vanilla, butter and peanut butter to form a dough. Wash hands, then roll the dough into balls 1 to 2 inches in diameter. Roll balls in confectioners' sugar until thickly coated. (Obviously I wasn't too good at this part! Haha!) Chill 20 minutes before serving.

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

2009-06-23T20:30:00.000-07:00

Yep, another bread. I love making homemade breads. One day, I want to be the kind of mom where I make it every week for my family instead of buying a loaf of bread from the store. It's so incredibly easy-and uses ingredients everyone has on hand (besides the yeast... some people don't always have yeast on hand, I'll give you that... BUT yeast is pretty darn cheap, so go buy some today!) I realllly want to try the whole Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day craze going around, where you pretty much take one day a week to make up a huge batch of dough, then leave it in the fridge all week and pull off a chunk whenever you need to bake anything, whether it be rolls, a loaf of bread, or whatever. It's all out of this cookbook, which is on my list. :)

This time, I decided to try my hand at some cinnamon swirl bread. Gettin fancy. :) It was super easy-seriously. Annndddd... drum roll, please..... I remembered to take pictures!!! :) Granted, I remembered at the very end when there was only one slice left, but still!

PS: I'm guessing this bread would be delicious as french toast the next morning, but it didn't really last that long. :)

Another thing: Next time, I'll use melted butter in the inside cinnamon mixture instead of oil. It tasted fine to me, but Matt said he could tell a difference. (He saw the recipe before hand and commented on the fact that it was "weird" so of course he happened to notice how "weird" it tasted... haha!) But seriously, even though butter and oil do basically the same thing, I did find it kind of weird to use oil instead of butter, so next time I'll use butter instead.

Without further ado... Here's the recipe. Try it--it's goooood!!

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

(I'm not posting the actual recipe because the way she did it on her blog explains it really good with pictures and everything. Much better than I could do. So promise me you'll click on the above link and check it out! It's worth it!)

Up Next... the easiest recipe you'll ever make. PERFECT for summer, as there is NO heating up of the stove or oven!!! :) Get excited!

Red Wine Lemonade

2009-06-22T09:05:00.000-07:00

I made this last night and boy, was it good! I had some bottles of wine left over from going to a winery earlier this year, and decided this would be a good way to use them up. The wine I used was a blackberry wine, and it worked really well in this drink. It basically tastes like a sparkling lemonade, with a little bit of a wine taste. The wine doesn't come through as much as I thought it would, it's more lemonade-y, but I think something would be missing without it. Anyway, it's a great summer drink and I'd highly recommend it if you have an extra bottle of wine sitting around or a bottle that has just a little left in it--it only takes 3/4 cup of wine & the recipe makes an entire pitcher. Enjoy!

Red Wine Lemonade

1/4 cup granulated sugar (may increase up to 1/3 cup)
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (approx. 2 lemons) (may increase up to 1/2 cup), plus lemon slices for garnish
3/4 cup dry red wine (may decrease to 1/2 cup)
28 ounces club soda, chilled
crushed ice

Combine sugar, lemon juice and your favorite red wine in a medium to large pitcher; stir until sugar dissolves. Stir in club soda; pour over crushed ice in desired serving glasses. Garnish with lemon slices and serve immediately. Enjoy!

Yield: approximately 1 quart.

Chocolate Chip Cheeseball

2009-06-09T19:19:00.000-07:00

This one comes from my mom. :) It's one of those party foods you only have once a year or so, but it's soooo good you wish you had it every week! :) I was eating an oreo tonight (just the chocolate part-I hate the cream filling. I know, I know... shoot me.) And the chocolate cookie part reminded me so much of eating this cheeseball because that's what you use to eat it, chocolate graham crackers. So, I decided to go to the store and get the stuff I needed to make it. It's super easy-the only hard part is waiting for it to 'harden' in the fridge. But it's well worth the wait. Another thing--if you can find them, the chocolate graham cracker sticks are the perfect things to eat this with. They're harder to find these days, though, so I just got plain old chocolate graham crackers. You eat this like you would a normal cheeseball with crackers, this is just a dessert one. Oh, and one last important thing: USE. REAL. BUTTER!! It won't set up right if you don't. Believe me, the first time I made this I was in the dorms and they sold "butter" at the little grocery store on campus. Since I could use my meal plan to get it and not spend any of my own money, of course that's what I did. Didn't work. Still tasted good, but definitely didn't ball up like it should have. Sorry for no pictures again. I'm bad at remembering to take them and I don't have all the pretty plates or the best lighting to take them in, especially since I usually bake late at night! Just imagine a ball of cheesecake, with mini-chocolate chips in it, covered in nuts. :) YUMMY! Let me know if you try it!

Chocolate Chip Cheeseball

Ingredients:

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
½ cup butter (no substitutes), softened
¼ tsp. vanilla
¾ cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
¾ cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
¾ cup finely chopped pecans
1 box chocolate graham cracker sticks

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until fluffy. Gradually add sugars; beat until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. Place mixture on a large piece of plastic wrap and shape into a ball. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Just before serving, roll cheese ball in pecans. Serve with graham crackers.

Strawberry Pops

2009-05-28T17:51:00.000-07:00

Let me start out by saying that Martha Stewart usually does not have my vote when it comes to recipes. I'm sure they are wonderful and tasty, but they almost always have random crazy ingredients that no normal person has in their pantry, or use some long, drawn out cooking method for no good reason and I'm just not into all that craziness. This recipe is the complete opposite. If you're looking for an easy, healthy, summer treat, these Strawberry Pops are it. With only two ingredients, it's pretty much as easy as you can get. As a side note, the recipe says it makes 8, but they are using the plastic cup & popsicle stick method. I bought some ice-pop tray things (mine only had 4 instead of 6) at Target and it filled them up, plus had a little extra. I ended up putting the extra into regular old ice cube trays (it only filled up a couple of the compartments), but I may make more next time and fill them up all the way because they're the perfect size to just grab a bite when you want a quick snack. All that to say, it really depends on how you make them. Mine pretty much only made 4, with a little extra.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pints strawberries, rinsed and hulled **This would be equal to one plastic container of strawberries you buy at the grocery store.**

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

Directions:

Pulse 1 1/2 pints strawberries, rinsed and hulled, with 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar and 1/3 cup water in food processor until pureed, with some chunks of berries remaining. Pour half of mixture into a bowl.
Pulse remainder until smooth. Stir puree into mixture in bowl. Pour into 3-ounce molds or plastic cups, insert sticks or wooden spoons, and freeze until solid, at least 8 hours.

Bobby

2009-05-19T18:54:00.001-07:00

I want his new cookbook! It's called Burgers, Fries, & Shakes and it sounds right up my alley. I love watching Throwdown. Anyone else watch it too? He has some of his throwdown recipes up on his website and also has the locations of most of them in New York if you ever go up there. He has a new restaurant called Bobby's Burger Palace, but of course the locations are no where near Murray, KY. In fact, there are three locations and they are all located in the same area of the US. (two in NJ and one in NY). If I ever get up that way, I'll definitely be going. The prices really aren't that bad, either. Anyway, just thought I'd share. Hope everyone's having a great middle of the week! I'm off for three days straight! :)

Strawberry Cream Freeze

2009-05-11T19:27:00.000-07:00

Haven't made this yet, but it looks pretty good. I think my favorite would be in the waffle bowls, but really either of the three ways looks incredible. And easy! I'll let you know if/when I try it! (Click on the picture for the recipe!)

Photoshop

2009-04-19T16:31:00.000-07:00

If any of you follow my other blog, you'll know that I've really gotten into Photoshop lately. It's so much fun to be able to do things with your pictures. The other day, I decided to work on an album of all my good recipes/the ones I've taken pictures of. I can't wait to have enough for an album :) Here are two of them for you (click for a bigger image/to read the recipe):

I love how you can do fun things in Photoshop like "cut-out" the one brownie, then stack it a bunch to look like a stack of brownies. This was the original picture, in case you are curious.

Pioneer Woman's Blueberry Baked French Toast

2009-04-14T09:16:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures for this one :( Sorry! But don't worry, I will be making this again! It was sooooo soooo good! And really easy. I pretty much made the entire thing (in seperate pieces) the night before, so all I had to do when I woke up was throw the topping on top and put it in the oven. I definitely recommend making this. It sounds weird (using chips instead of bread) but I promise, it's even better! Just try it! You'll be glad you did!

Pioneer Woman's Blueberry Baked French Toast

Gooey Cookie Pie Bites

2009-04-05T14:46:00.001-07:00

These were really good. They didn't turn out like I expected, and I originally made them for Matt but he didn't like them. Fine with me, I ate them all!! :) I don't feel like copy/pasting the whole recipe when you can just click HERE and read her comments about it too. But I'll show you all my pictures (I forgot to take ones after they finished baking. Whoops.) and a couple extras of the Alton Brownie BITES I made the day before. YUM! :) PS: I love getting use out of my mini muffin pan! Enjoy!

Next on my list...

2009-03-31T15:39:00.000-07:00

This is definitely next on my list. It looks a.m.a.z.i.n.g. And easy.

http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/08/alexs-choice/

I'll let you know how it goes.

Cinnamon Chocolate Bundt Cake Pictures

2009-03-26T17:14:00.000-07:00

First of all, this cake rocks! It tastes like chocolate cake, but better. Different. It has that something that makes you go "what IS that???" Definitely my new go-to chocolate cake. It's easy to make--the only thing I don't usually have on hand that it requires is buttermilk. Maybe I'll find some other recipes that use buttermilk so I will always have it on hand! :) Enjoy the pictures.
(Ignore the craziness where the "crust" stayed in the pan. :) Oh, and I did already start to cut it before I remembered to take a picture so ignore that, too! Haha!)

Cinnamon Chocolate Bundt Cake

2009-03-26T13:10:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to make this ever since I got a new bundt pan after Valentine's day. ($5 at Walmart AND it came with a carrying case which I can use for other cakes too! And it's not a crappy one either. It's actually pretty durable.) I bought the ingredients last week sometime and didn't get around to making it until today. It's getting ready to come out of the oven so hopefully it's good! (The batter sure was!! :)) I'll post pictures once it's finished and cooled.

Cinnamon Chocolate Cake
-Vintage Victuals

1/2 cup butter
1 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
5 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a large bundt pan with cooking spray. Put butter, water, oil, and cocoa in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil.
Meanwhile, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl. Pour the chocolate mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix well. Then, add the buttermilk and baking soda. Mix together the eggs, cinnamon, and vanilla in a small bowl, and add to the batter. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake 25 minutes. Allow cake to cool completely in the pan.

Cinnamon Rolls w/Cream Cheese Icing

2009-03-15T20:29:00.001-07:00

These are awesome. I've made them a couple of times, a couple of different ways and I've loved every single way they've come out. This time, I followed the recipe exactly, but made my own icing. A cream cheese icing I found online that is supposed to be the same as Cinnabon's icing. It tasted the same to me, but it's been a looonng time since I've ate there! The only thing I hate about making these is it takes so long (one hour+ten minutes+thirty minutes RISING time, then baking for 30 minutes, plus however long it takes you to make the dough, roll it out, etc.) Anyway, three hours later (well worth the wait!), here are the cinnamon rolls!

PS: I love making these at night. I don't think I've ever actually made them for breakfast, even though I know there is a point I could wait and just bake them in the morning. I always want them right then!

PPS: I'm not posting the recipe because #1, I don't feel like it (it's on my other computer and I don't feel like getting it off) and #2, I read this blog post last night and think it's downright hilarious, but still kind of one of those things... I've gotten really into figuring out copyright/piracy stuff lately due to digi-scrapping, and I don't really have it all figured out yet. (No, I don't really think it's illegal to post recipes online, especially if you tweak them and make them your own. Who's to say you didn't just come up with it by yourself??? Anyway, that's a whole nother post... I'm pretty much just being lazy today. Sorry!) :)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

2009-02-22T18:57:00.000-08:00

I made these muffins this morning before I went to work and they were fabulous!! They were great for breakfast, great for a snack after work, and I'm about to go eat another one (or two!) for dessert!! :) I don't have any pictures, but here's the recipe. Money Saving Mom linked to it the other day and I just now decided to try it. Super easy, and very good. One warning... The recipe makes enough for 30 muffins. I halved it (easy to do if you follow this link to get to the recipe. You can have them halve it for you! Just click on 'change servings and units' beside where it says '30 Muffins' right above the ingredients, and change it to 15 instead of 30.) and it made "15" but I filled mine a little more than 3/4 full and used all the batter to fill up a normal 12-muffin muffin pan.

**The recipe below is for the halved version I used which made 12 muffins**

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 of a 16 ounce can of pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
5/8 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

In large mixing bowl beat eggs, sugar, pumpkin, vanilla and oil until smooth.
Mix dry ingredients together and mix into pumpkin mixture. Fold in chocolate chips.
Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups 3/4 full.
Bake at 400 F for 16-20 minutes.

Sugar Cookies

2009-02-20T17:26:00.000-08:00

I bought some new "toys" the other day so since it's Friday (and my day off!), I decided to try them out! I bought the Wilton 101 piece cookie cutter set from Wal-mart, and their 18-piece cake decorating set. I had a total blast. I can't remember for the life of me where I got the recipe I used, but it's titled "No Fail Sugar Cookies." I ended up halving the recipe because I didn't have enough flour for the whole thing. Also, I didn't have enough ingredients to make any of the icings I looked up (can you tell I need to go to the store???) so I just used a can of store-bought I already had and colored it three different colors. Green, pink, and a darker pink. My boyfriend, Matt, loves the lesser-known super hero The Green Lantern, so I decided to make him a few with the Green Lantern symbol on them. I spiced a couple of those up with some pink, which he didn't really appreciate. :) For the others, I just pulled out some random cookie cutters and had fun coming up with ways to decorate them. Enjoy!

The naked cookies.

The Green (Pink) Lantern

Love. My first try at lettering.

More hearts, plus M & A for Matthew & Ashlee.

Pink cowboy boots!!

Dinosaurs!

Some randoms. A heart I forgot when I was doing all the others, a "ruff" looking dog, and a LOST plane! :)

Alton Brownies

2009-02-13T17:31:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I just did that. :)

These are awesome and anyone who is anyone needs to try them. Super easy and way good. Best brownies I've ever had... Hands down. I love Alton Brown.

Cocoa Brownies

Ingredients

Soft butter, for greasing the pan
Flour, for dusting the buttered pan
4 large eggs
1 cup sugar, sifted
1 cup brown sugar, sifted
8 ounces melted butter
11/4 cups cocoa, sifted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Butter and flour an 8-inch square pan.
In a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs at medium speed until fluffy and light yellow. Add both sugars. Add remaining ingredients, and mix to combine.
Pour the batter into a greased and floured 8-inch square pan and bake for 45 minutes. Check for doneness with the tried-and-true toothpick method: a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan should come out clean. When it's done, remove to a rack to cool. Resist the temptation to cut into it until it's mostly cool.

Ham & Cheese Roll-Ups and Baked Potato Casserole

2008-09-18T08:27:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite meals. And super easy, as well. The roll-ups are actually a Bisquick recipe which you can find here. The Baked Potato Casserole is something Matt made up and it's insanely good! It's pretty much just cut up potatoes, ranch dressing, and TONS of cheese!! Oh, and a stick of butter. Yes, a whole stick. Haha :) Also, I made my favorite cake-mix in the whole world (Cherry Chip) You can't find it everywhere and I used to have it EVERY SINGLE year for my birthday until they stopped making it. They started making it again, but you can only find it certain places--Mom sent me a box & icing for my birthday and I decided to make them into cupcakes. Unfortunately for me, my apartment is not the ideal temperature for frosting (only one air conditioning unit and I like to save electricity...) and it all melted off :( They were so cute, too. I wish I took pictures before I realized they melted! Oh well, they still taste amazing! :) Enjoy!!

Starting Off...

2008-09-10T18:36:00.000-07:00

I put links to some of my favorite cooking blogs on the side, so check them out!

Why??

2008-09-09T20:01:00.000-07:00

I've started this blog because I read tons of blogs out there about cooking and they have inspired me to start my own. I'm hoping to join the Daring Bakers and Tuesdays with Dorie in the future and wanted a place to post all my cooking adventures. I love to cook, especially bake, and also thought this could be a great way to give/get recipies from friends and family who would like to share. Hopefully this turns into something great! :)