Chocolate and Caramel Rice Krispey Treats

 I got this awesome recipe from my sister, Suzie. 

  Rice Krispey Treats:

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. Margarine or Butter

1 10 oz package of Marshmallows

6 Cups of Rice Krispies

Directions:  

Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat.  Add marshmallows and stir until almost completely melted.  If you let them cook for too long, your Rice Krispey Treats will be hard.  Remove from heat.  Fold in cereal until completely coated.  Spray a baking sheet with Pam and press mixture into the pan.

Caramel:

Ingredients:

1 Cup Butter - 2 Cubes

2 Cups Brown Sugar

1 Cup Corn Syurp

1 Can Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 tsp. Vanilla

Directions:

Add all ingredients in a sauce pan.  Bring to a rolling boil for about 4 minutes stirring almost constantly.  Remove from heat.  

You have to watch it very carefully so it doesn't burn.  I have an electric stove (that I despise) and I turned my back for 2 seconds and mine was well on its way to burning.  So be very careful!

This makes a lot of caramel so you can use about half for this and use the rest for Caramel Popcorn, Caramel Apples, whatever. Or just cut the recipe in half!

Additional Ingredients:

1 bag of White Chocolate Chips

1/2 Bag of Milk Chocolate Chips

Melt white chocolate chips in microwave for 30 second intervals stirring after each time.  Spread over Rice Krispey Treats.  Drizzle caramel over the white chocolate.  Melt half a bag of milk chocolate chips also in 30 second intervals and drizzle over the caramel.  Let set, cut, and serve!

Chicken & Stuffing Casserole

I know this is a very basic and common recipe which you may already have, but I'm posting it anyway, even if it is just for my own use.

1-2 Boxes of Stove Top - depends on how much you like

2 Chicken Breasts

1 can Cream of Chicken Soup

1/3 Cup Mayo

Cook and cube chicken.  

Make Stove Top Stuffing.

Mix together the Cream of Chicken Soup and Mayo.  Add the cubed chicken.  

Layer in baking dish half of the stuffing, then the chicken mixture, then top with the rest of the stuffing.

 Cook at 350 for a half hour or until warmed through.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

or another way to serve it...

 I made this for a Halloween party and I forgot to bring my dishes (and more importantly, leftovers) home.  Guess I'll just have to make it again!

Ingredients

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened 

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 clove garlic, peeled and minced

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

salt and pepper to taste

1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a small baking dish.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, garlic, basil, salt and pepper. Gently stir in artichoke hearts and spinach.
3. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish. Top with mozzarella cheese. Bake in the preheated oven 25 minutes, until bubbly and lightly browned.

Pumpkin Cake

I got this recipe from my friend Angie, who got it from My Kitchen Cafe.  They call them Pumpkin Bars but I made it in a cake pan so then it was a cake!  Either way, it's really really yummy.  I also added some spices that they didn't have in theirs.

I made this for my friend Laura's birthday so there are sprinkles on it in case you're wondering what that is.

Bars:
4 eggs
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup applesauce
15-ounce can pumpkin
2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

Icing:
8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 cube of butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350. Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Add flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, salt, and baking soda. Mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth. Spread the batter into a greased 13 x 9 baking pan.  Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.

To make the icing:  Soften the cream cheese and the butter.  Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again. Spread on the cake.

If I'm Not Baking...

... I'm crafting!
I started a new blog for my crafty side.  I hope you'll check it out!
http://blossomsofblue.blogspot.com/

Fluffy White Frosting

Sorry this is more of a Christmasy recipe. I guess I'm just in the spirit early this year! And yes, I actually did some Christmas shopping today. What is with me?! :)

Growing up, our family has always done Fluffy White Frosting on cakes if your birthday is in winter. Mine is, so it's extra special to me. I love it. It reminds me of my birthday but especially Christmas. Now that I'm in Arizona and we don't have snow, this is kind of like my snow. Except super delicious.


Fluffy White Frosting on Red Velvet Cake Pops

Ingredients:
1 Cup Sugar
1/4 tsp. Cream of Tartar
Pinch of Salt
1/3 Cup Water
1 Tbsp. Light Corn Syrup
1 Egg White (Room Temperature)
1/4 tsp. Vanilla

Directions:
Separate egg white from yolk. Let sit until it reaches room temperature
Bring sugar, cream of tartar, salt, water, and corn syrup to a boil. Boil until sugar is dissolved. 1-2 mintutes tops. Pour that into your mixer and mix while slowly adding the unbeaten egg white. Beat until frosting is thick and forms peaks. Add vanilla and mix.

Our favorite way to top this is with crushed candy canes. It just makes it feel like Christmas.

Cake Pops Take 2

I figured out that my problem was that my chocolate was too thick. So I stirred in a little vegetable oil to thin it out and it worked! But these still aren't up to Bakerella's standards. But I think they're fine for my 2nd try.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta

For those who have been to Firehouse (either in Logan, Smithfield, or Bountiful, UT) you know this dish. Mine is a little different, I'll explain. I used Angel Hair pasta but I definitely would have used Penne if I had had any. I thought for sure I had some and when I found that I didn't, it was too late.

Ingredients:
2 Chicken Breasts
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Bacon
Penne Pasta
Green Onions
Alfredo Sauce (see below)

Directions:
Place chicken in baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast at 350 for 25-35 minutes or until thoroughly cooked. Slice. You could also grill the chicken to get a nice crisp outside but this way it comes out so tender I prefer this. Or you could grill it just enough to crisp it and then throw it in the oven, I'll have to try that next time.
Pan fry bacon. Pat dry and dice.
Make alfredo sauce.
Boil water for pasta and cook according to box directions.
Mix it all together and serve.

Alfredo Sauce:
1/2 Cup Sweet Butter (1 cube)
1 Garlic clove - minced
2 Cups Heavy Cream
1/2 tsp. Pepper
1/2 Cup Fresh Parmesan - no canned stuff
3/4 cup. Mozzarella

Directions:
Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium/low heat. Add garlic, cream, and pepper. Bring mixture to a simmer. Stir often. Add the parmesan and simmer for 8 - 10 minutes or until it has thickened and is smooth. Add mozzarella and stir until smooth.

Pumpkin Apple Spice Cake

The Before


The After

First, a little back story.
My son's kindergarten class was studying apples last week and we were supposed to take in something with apples for the class to taste. Of course it had to be store bought so I couldn't bake anything but I was inspired to make this.

Ingredients:
1 Spice Cake Mix
1 Can Apple Pie Filling
3 heaping spoon fulls of Pumpkin Pie Puree - probably 1/2 - 3/4 of a cup
1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil
2 Eggs

Mix in a large bowl, the cake mix, oil, and eggs. Then mix in the pie filling and pumpkin. Bake at 350 for 35 - 37 minutes.
After 10 minutes, flip over onto cooling rack WITHOUT dropping your favorite piece of stoneware and destroying your cake.

The cake is heavy. The pan is also heavy and very slick especially with hot pads. I totally lost my grip mid-air and dropped it. The cake actually fell out in one piece.  It fell apart when I tried to pick it up. However, I made a "trifle" out of it and it was delicious.

I used this frosting recipe to top it
Frosting:
1 pkg. Cream Cheese
2 cups Powdered Sugar
1 cube of Margarine or Butter
1 tsp. Vanilla

Cream the butter and cream cheese together. Mix in powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth.

This actually tasted a lot like Pumpkin Pie and it was so yummy. Looked AWFUL but tasted great.

Lime Ricky

I know I should have a lime wedge on the glass for a garnish but I made this just for me and the kids so I wasn't too worried about impressing them.
I got this recipe from my brother and his wife who decided it would be so simple to make these instead of running to Arctic Circle.  They were right.  


Ingredients:
1 2 liter of Grape Soda - my brother and his wife use Diet.  I prefer the hard stuff.
1 can of Frozen Limeade

Mix well and serve.
And yes, lime wedges or slices are a nice garnish.