Broccoli Salad

So, there's no pictures to go with this post but this is by far one of my favorite side dishes. It is GREAT for summer, no cooking involved and very little prep. It would also be great to bring to a BBQ. I can't forget to mention that I am one of broccoli's least favorite fans but I LOVE this recipe! The ingredients might sound a little odd but blend wonderfully! (do keep in mind I am estimating amounts for this salad here... it might need a little more, except for the dressing, I have that right)

5 cups (or so) broccoli florets (I cut mine into teeny, tiny pieces)
1/2 cup real bacon bits
1/2 raisins (golden are best but dark raisins work too)

Dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise
3 TBSP vinegar (I used apple cider most recently but white works too)
1/3-1/2 cup white sugar
sprinkle of black pepper

Mix the top three ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Wisk together the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and pour over the salad. I like to let this chill in the fridge for a few hours before serving. This is certianly one of those recipes that gets better with time!

Optional add-ins:
sunflower seeds
cauliflower
red onion
shredded carrots
green onion

Gooey Butter Cake

Yes you will gain 3 pounds just by looking at this. You will not, hwoever, regret it! This is just as delicious as it sounds. Not to mention, it's a Paula Deen recipe!



Crust-
1 18 oz box yellow cake mix
1 egg
1 stick of butter, melted

Gooey Part-
1 8oz pkg cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 stick butter, melted
16 oz of powdered sugar



Mix the ingredients for the crust and press into a 9x13 glass pan.




Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla and butter until smooth. Beat in the sugar and spread over the crust.

Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes. Remember that the middle should still be gooey and it will become even firmer as it cools!

Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Yes folks, these are as fabulous as they sound! What could be better then gooey cookie dough encased in delicious, moist cupcake and topped with fabulous cookie dough buttercream icing? Nothing. These do need to be started the day/night before you plan on baking them. Keep that in mind! Also, I short cut these by using box mixes for the cookie dough and cupcake mix but you could very easily use your own facorite recipe to make those from scratch!

Cookie Dough:
1 pkg (I believe it's a 1lb pkg) of betty crocker chocolate chip cookie dough mix
Replace each egg with 2 tbsp of milk

Cupcake mix:
Any box of yellow or white cake mix will work (you can even add a pkg of white chocolate pudding)

Frosting:
3 sticks of unsalted butter, at room temp
1 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup flour
3/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp milk
2 1/2 tsp vanilla

Start by making your cookie dough and forming it into 3/4 inch to 1 inch balls (you can decide how much gooey cookie dough goodness you would like in your cupcakes). Freeze this dough over night.
Mix your cupcake mix according to directions. Fill your cupcake tin no more then 2/3 full.

Take your frozen cookie dough and plop it on top of the cupcake batter. The freezing of the dough will prevent it from cooking in the oven. Bake according to to cake mix directions.

While those are baking, you'll want to make your frosting. Beat the brown sugar and butter until creamy. Mix in powdered sugar. Keep beating and add the flour and salt. Lastly, add the vanilla and milk until it is nice and smooth! Use this top those delicious cupcakes and VOILA!

I would LOVE to hear how yours turn out!

These would also be good with other types of cookie dough and cake! My suggestion would be some peanut butter cookie dough and some chocolate cupcakes... YUM!

Carrot Cake... for breakfast?

Parents magazine recently had an article about veggies for breakfast, I figured I could give it a shot. One recipe in particular looked easy and I already had the ingredients on hand! If you like carrot cake, this is a must for breakfast!

low fat vanilla yogurt
shredded carrots (i used the small side of my shredder so I actually ended up with more of a carrot pulp)
raisins
walnuts (I didn't have any on hand)
cinnamon

layer (or mix like I did) yogurt, carrots and raisins. top with walnuts and sprinkle with cinnamon! amazing how a low fat, nutritious breakfast can taste like dessert!

Three Cheese Beef Stuffed Shells

So, when Anthony walked up to get seconds of this meal last night and literally gave me two thumbs up! He said it was the best food he's had in awhile. SCORE! This meal was so delicious!

1 box jumbo shells (cook and drain)
1 lb lean ground beef (cooked, drained and slightly cooled)
1 8oz pkg cream cheese (softened)
2 tsp italian seasoning
2 cup shredded italian blend cheese
1/2 cup parmesean
1 egg
1 jar chunky spaghetti sauce

In mixing bowl combine cream cheese, egg and italian seasoning. mix until smooth. add parm and 1 1/2 cup of italian cheese. stir in beef. spread a small amount of sauce over the bottom of a 9x13 glass dish. stuff shells and place them tightly in dish. cover with the rest of sauce and top with remaining italian cheese. bake at 350, covered for 30 minutes. uncover and continue baking for about 15 more minutes until sauce is bubbling!

Dump Cake

I first had this at a work potluck about 7 years ago. I brought home the recipe and made it that night. It was so delicious! I have forgotten all about it until now! This is the easiest cake EVER! I really recommend keeping the ingredients in your cupboard for impromptu dinner guests. Best of all, there is nearly no work involved and it takes less then 5 minutes to throw together! This yummy cake is a cross between cake and cobbler... delish!

1 box of yellow cake mix
1 20 oz can of cherry pie filling
1 20 oz can of crushed pineapple with juice
2 sticks butter or margarine sliced

Preheat oven to 350. Dump cherries into 9x13 glass dish



Dump pineapple (juice and all) into pan and mix with cherries.



This should make a very pretty pink base for your cake.



Pour dry cake mix evenly over fruit, feel free to taste it, Aidan did.

I realyy should have used sticks of margarine rather then spread because this part was a pain!

Bake for 45-60 minutes until cake is bubbly on top. Finished cake pictures in next post!

Tex Mex Shells

This is certainly a favorite around our house. I think I might have gotten this recipe off of one of those recipe cards in the meat department at Walmart, go figure :)

1 lb ground beef
1.25-1.5 lbs large shell pasta cooked and drained
1/2 onion, chopped
1 can olives, drained and sliced (or 2 cans pre sliced olives)
1 can diced tomatos, drained (you could also use about 1.5 cupsof halved cherry tomatos)
3 cups shredded cheddar
1 can condensed tomato soup
1 can milk (tomato soup can)
1 package of fajita seasoning (I really think this recipe tastes best with Great Value brand seasoning, I have tried others)

Brown beef with onion and drain.



Mix beef, onion, olives, tomatos and pasta. Mix together seperately tomato soup plus one can of milk and fajita seasoning. Pour this over pasta mixture and add shredded cheese.



Place in pyrex dish and cover with foil and bake at 375 for about 45 minutes.

This is also really yummy topped with crushed fritos!