Reese's Cake

My son had a birthday recently and when I asked him what kind of cake he wanted, he told me "some kind of chocolate and peanut butter cake."  Well okaaay.

 

I knew I already had a great peanut butter frosting recipe that we've used for a few things now, so all I needed to do was come up with the cake.  This is pretty much a normal chocolate cake recipe with chopped up Reese's Minis inside - LOVE!

 

The decorating was a little random and left a lot to be desired, I know.  I should have just chopped the peanut butter cups up and piled them on top with the Reese's Pieces.  Oh - well, it sort of looks like a birthday crown. haha ;)

 

Ingredients:

1 box devil's food cake mix

1 small box instant chocolate pudding mix

1 cup sour cream

1 cup oil

4 beaten eggs

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups chopped Reese's Minis (I used one whole bag.)

extra Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Reese's Pieces for decoration, optional

 

Directions:

Combine all ingredients, except peanut butter cups in large mixing bowl.  Stir well - batter will be thick.

 

Fold in chopped Reese's Minis.  Pour into 2 greased 9-inch round cake pans.

 

Bake at 350F for the amount of time called for on the box, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

 

Cool completely on wire racks.

 

Peanut Butter Frosting Recipe

 

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This was the only picture I could get of the inside - you can't even see the Reese's Minis, but they were delicious!!

Decorate with Reese's Pieces and peanut butter cups.  Enjoy!

Stuffed Pasta Shells

Ingredients:

12 uncooked jumbo pasta shells
1 medium onion chopped
1 pound ground beef
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
3 oz cream cheese at room temp
1/4 cup taco seasoning
1/2 cup salsa
1 cup shredded four cheese blend

1/2 cup crushed corn chips
4 medium green onions
1/2 cup sour cream

Directions:

Heat oven to 350*  Spray 9 inch square baking dish with cooking spray.

Cook pasta as directed on package.  While pasta is cooking, cook ground beef and onion in skillet until beef is browned.  Drain.

Stir in chili powder, cream cheese and taco seasoning into beef.  Heat over medium low heat 2-3 min until cheese is melted, stirring occasionally.   Remove from heat.

 Drain pasta shells.  Fill shells with beef mixture, using about 2 Tbsp for each shell.  Place filled shells in prepared pan.  Pour salsa over shells.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake 20 min.  Remove pan from oven.  Sprinkle shells with cheese and corn chips.  Bake uncovered about 10 min longer or until cheese is melted. 

Top with green onions and sour cream if desired.

Shamrock Shakes

3 cups vanilla ice cream
1 3/4 cups milk
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
green food coloring

Blend all ingredients in a blender until completely thick and smooth. Pour into glasses and serve.

You could also get all fancy and add whip cream and sprinkles on top. :)

After I made this, I wondered why the recipe didn't just call for mint ice cream. Then you wouldn't have to add the peppermint extract or food coloring. ;)  I might try that next time and see how it turns out and if it tastes the same.  You could really make this for any holiday and just change out the ice cream flavors (peppermint candy cane anyone? yes please!).

Pistachio St. Patrick's Day Bread

I made this for St. Patrick's Day and it was so yummy! Even Steve liked it and he isn't a big fan of pistachio flavored things. :)  I took one loaf to work and everyone loved it!



1 yellow cake mix
4 eggs
1/4 cup oil
2 Tbsp water
1 (3 oz) pkg instant pistachio pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp green food coloring
1 Tbsp almond extract
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two loaf pans. Mix all ingredients together until well blended. Pour into prepared pans. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pans. 

Easy peasy!! Enjoy!

Colorado Beef Burritos

These burritos were so good - I totally forgot to take any pictures of them until there was only one left!  So, the pictures aren't the best - but I will definitely be making these again. 

These were the really good shredded beef kind of burritos, like you get in Mexican restaurants. Yum!  And they were super easy.  The recipe is a freezer Crockpot meal, so I actually had it sitting in my freezer ready to go.  Then I just dumped it all in my Crockpot on Sunday to cook.  You still have to shred the meat and make the burritos, but it's still pretty easy.

I got the recipe from baked in the south.  There are a whole bunch of yummy freezer-to-Crockpot meals on there that I'm planning to make.

Ingredients:
2 lb. stew beef
1 c. chopped onion
1 c. beef stock
2 (12 oz) cans red enchilada sauce
6-8 flour tortillas
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Label gallon freezer bag and add stew beef, onions, beef stock and 1 can enchilada sauce.  Freeze.
(If you don't want to freeze it, just add the ingredients straight to the Crockpot instead.)

Cook on low for 6-8 hrs until beef is tender.  Remove beef and shred.

Divide beef evenly between tortillas and roll into burrito.  Lay burritos seam-side down on greased baking dish.  Pour remaining can of enchilada sauce over burritos and top with cheese.

Bake at 375 F for 15-20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Serve with salsa, lettuce, sour cream or other toppings if you want.  I liked mine plain. :)

Strawberry Cupcakes

These cupcakes are sooo good with their strawberry cream cheese frosting!  I made little fudge hearts to go on them, and they taste amazing with the frosting also.

 

I made one batch of cupcakes from scratch yesterday, and they turned out awful! I had to throw them all out!  So I went and bought a strawberry cake mix, and added a few things - much better!

 

For the fudge, I used our 2 Minute Fudge recipe, and spread it on a cookie sheet so it would be thin. 

I found some of these cookie cutters at Wal-Mart, and used the smallest one to cut out the fudge after it was set.

The smallest one was the perfect size - so cute!

 

Cupcake Ingredients:

1 box strawberry cake mix, (including ingredients needed on box)

1 extra egg

3/4 cup sour cream

1 (3 oz) package strawberry gelatin

 

Directions:

Add one extra egg to the amount called for on the box.  Beat the eggs for 2 minutes in a separate bowl, set aside.

 

In large mixing bowl, add cake mix and remaining ingredients on the box. Add in the beaten eggs and mix together.  Add sour cream and strawberry gelatin, stir well.  Blend on medium speed for 2 minutes.

 

Pour into cupcake pan, and bake according to package directions.

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:

8 oz strawberry flavored cream cheese

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 TBS vanilla

4 cups powdered sugar (add more or less until desired consistency)   

milk, if needed to make thinner

red food coloring

sprinkles, optional

 

Directions:

In large bowl, blend cream cheese until smooth.  Add softened butter, and blend together with cream cheese.  Add vanilla and powdered sugar.  You may need to add some milk if it's too thick.

 

Add food coloring, mix well.  Spoon into bag and pipe onto cooled cupcakes.  Add sprinkles and fudge hearts! :)

 

Enjoy!

Garlic Breadsticks

If you love the Olive Garden's breadsticks as much as I do, you need to make these right now!  They are soooo good!

Do you want to know the very best thing about them?  They are super easy to make!  No need for a mixer, and they're ready in about an hour.

We have made these quite a few times in the last year.  I tried them once without the garlic, just for a change and they were still very good.  However, my family has voted they like the garlic ones best.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 tsp rapid rise yeast
2 TBS sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water
4 1/4 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp salt
4 TBS butter or margarine, melted

Topping:
1/2 cup butter (8 TBS), melted
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 - 1 tsp salt
oregano (I just sprinkled some in)

Directions:
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water.  Let sit until frothy, about 5 minutes.

Add flour and salt to yeast mixure, stir.  Add melted butter and knead with hands until well combined.  Add a little flour if dough is too sticky.  Do not over-knead.

Oil palms and divide the dough into 16 pieces.  (I just break dough in half, then keep dividing in halves until I have about 16 fairly similar-sized balls.)

Roll dough into long strips.  Place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.  Cover and let sit in a warm place until breadsticks rise slightly, about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Bake for about 6 minutes. 

Meanwhile, combine topping ingredients in a small bowl.

Remove breadsticks after 6 minutes, brush with topping mixture. Continue to bake an additional 5-6 minutes, or until golden. (Watch closely.)

Remove from oven and brush with more topping mixture.

Enjoy!