Butter Pecan Cake Cookies

While I was grocery shopping this weekend there was this little girl riding around in her buggy singing Christmas songs at the top of her lungs. It was really sweet and cute and it put me in the mood to bake some cookies.

When I returned home I couldn't decide what type of cookies I wanted to make. The longer I thought about it the sleepier I got, but I still wanted to  bake cookies so I knew I had to make something quick and easy.  I saw the box of Betty Crocker butter pecan cake mix in the pantry and decided to make a batch of cake mix cookies.  Michael loves butter pecan ice cream so I thought it would be a nice treat for him.

I love cake mix cookies because you only use one bowl so the clean up is a breeze and the prep time doesn't take very long at all.  It is also very versatile, you can use any type of cake mix and any type filling. If you're feeling creative you can come up with any type of flavor combinations.

Ingredients
1 box butter pecan cake mix
½ cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 cup chopped pecans
1 tsp vanilla



One of the eggs was shy. I also decided to add the vanilla after the the inital picture was taken.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In a medium bowl, stir together cake mix, butter, vanilla and eggs until well blended. (If you forget to take the butter out to soften you can grate it into the batter.)



Fold in pecans.



Spoon on to cookie sheet.



Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.



Allow cookies to cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.





To make an even tastier treat, you can add ice cream and turn it into an ice cream sandwich.



Top with a second cookie.



Add chopped pecans around the edges.



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Fried Apples

Every year in August my extended family has a family reunion in South Boston, VA. I wasn't able to go last year and I won't be able to go this year due to my job and I am very sad about this.  Growing up we would make the 8 hour drive from New Jersey to my grandma's house, leaving middle of the night, so us kids would sleep the entire road trip.  This would ensure that we would always arrive just in time for breakfast.  I could always count on my grandma or one of aunts to make me some fried apples when we arrived (and every other morning we were there).  This wasn't a dish that my mom made so it was definitely a special treat.

Some of my best memories growing up are from the family reunions.  Having all of the cousins under one roof. Eating watermelon in my grandma's yard during the day and chasing fireflies at night. It truly was the best of times.

Since I will not be able to go this year, I was feeling nostalgic and decided to make some of grandma's fried apples for breakfast this morning.  They aren't as good as grandma's but they satisfy the craving.  This is a versatile dish, you can make it for breakfast. it also makes a great side for ham or pork dinners.  It is absolutely delicious over vanilla ice cream.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 3

Ingredients
6 Apples
1/2 cup Butter
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
2 pinches nutmeg
3 tbsp Granulated Sugar




Directions

Core, peel and slice apples into a bowl.



Combine sugars, cinnamon and nutmeg in a separate bowl and set aside.



In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat.



Add the apples and sprinkle with sugar mixture.





Cover and cook over low heat for 15 minutes or until apples are tender, stirring occasionally.





Serve warm.



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Jalapeno & Cheddar Corn Muffins

Cooking is my passion, but unfortunately right now it doesn't pay the bills.  I work full time and some days I leave the house before 8 in the morning and I don't return home until after 7 in the evening.  On these days I need quick and easy recipes to make for my family.  But I still like to make the meal special by adding special touches, like these quick and easy corn muffins. Sometimes boxed mixes can be a life saver.

Ingredients
1 Box Corn Muffin Mix
Eggs
Milk
Jalapeno
Shredded Cheddar Cheese



Combine Corn Muffin Mix, Milk and Eggs according to the package instructions.



Add 1/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese. Depending on the level of "heat" that you prefer, you can add anywhere from 1/2 teaspoon of jalapenos to 2 teaspoons.



Pour batter into a muffin tin.  I made mini muffins this time.



Bake according to instructions.



Serve and Enjoy!

Chopped: Bennett Family Edition

Whenever I am having a lazy day, I enjoy spending hours watching the Food Network.  One of my favorite shows to watch is Chopped.  If you have never watched the show, there are four chefs competing.  They are given a basket of surprise ingredients and they have to cook a dish in 30 minutes. I love watching the chefs think of creative dishes in a high pressure environment.

Today, while I was on the phone with Michael we both asked each other at the same time, "What do you want for dinner tonight".  After I responded with "Jinx, you owe me a Dr. Pepper!", I told Michael I had an interesting idea.  I told him to go to the store and buy any ingredients he wanted without going over $30.00 and I would create a meal as soon as I got home.  He loved the idea and went straight to the grocery store.

I came home to find these groceries waiting for me.


(Cubed Steak, Spanish Rice Mix, Mangoes, Banana Peppers and a Marinade)

The only ingredients I added besides seasonings were, frozen vegetables, salsa and cream of chicken soup.



I knew right way that I wanted to add one of the mangoes to rice and I also wanted to spice up the rice by adding 1/2 cup of salsa.





For some reason I have never cooked cubed steak before. But knowing it is what is used in Salisbury steak I knew it would need some type of gravy, but I wanted to stick with a Spanish theme.

I first seasoned the steaks with garlic powder, salt, pepper and cumin. I then added the banana peppers.



I combined salsa with the cream of chicken soup and poured it over the steaks and baked at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes.




Honestly, I didn't know what to do with the marinade. I tasted it and immediately hated it, but I had to use it, so I cheated. I sauteed the vegetables in it.



Here is the complete meal.



We both loved the steaks and rice and we both agreed that marinade was nasty.

I still had an extra mango, so I chopped it and cooked it on the stove top with 1/4 cup of water, sugar and brown sugar and brought to a boil. I then added to individual baking dishes and topped with a brown sugar/butter mixture.



I baked for 30 minutes at 350.  The only thing missing was vanilla ice cream.



This evening was a lot fun.  I look forwarded to playing this game again. Maybe next time I will let you choose the ingredients.

Show me some love and let me know what you think in the comments below.

French Toast Bites

For some reason the other day Michael came home with multiple bags of hot dog buns.  I didn't ask why, sometimes it is safer that way.  One night we had hot dogs.  The second night I used the hot dog buns to make garlic cheese bread. Finally the weekend came and I still had hot dog buns to use up. I hate throwing out food if I don't have to so I decided to use the last the of the bread to make these French Toast Bites.  Turns out I am the only person in my house  who enjoys French Toast, so I had to freeze a batch. Now you can use any type of bread you have on hand to make this recipe, but a thicker bread would work best.

Ingredients

8 thick slices of bread
¼ cup flour
1 cup milk
1 pinch salt
2 eggs
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp nutmeg



Combine flour, milk, salt, eggs, cinnamon, vanilla extract, nutmeg and sugar



Whisk until smooth



Break up the bread into bite size pieces



Soak pieces of bread in mixture





Add bread pieces to a pan with melted butter and cook over medium heat until golden brown



Serve hot with syrup and powdered sugar



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Chocolate Banana Pudding

Last week Michael and I went to a local BBQ joint for dinner.  Even though I was completely stuffed from my meal, I still ordered the banana pudding.  Banana pudding only recently came into my life as a new love so I try to eat it whenever the opportunity arises to make up for all the years I neglected it.  Michael on the other hand does not like banana pudding at all.  So I sat there with mixed emotions, happy that I didn’t have to share my dessert, but sad that Michael wasn’t able to enjoy the pudding. That was when I was struck by inspiration. Michael loves the combination of bananas and chocolate, so why not a chocolate banana pudding.  It was a successful endeavor. I received the approval rating from Michael and two 15 year old boys!  It is really simple to make, you are just going to want to make it at least 8 hours before you want to serve it to allow the flavors to blend together.


Ingredients
1 6 ounce package of chocolate pudding
2 ½ cups cold milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 ounces)
1 container whipped topping )16 ounces
Sliced bananas
Chocolate wafer cookies




Directions
Whisk together pudding and milk




Add condensed milk, blending well.



Fold in half of the whipped topping


Alternate layers of pudding, bananas and chocolate wafers.




Top with remaining whipped topping and a few banana slices.




Refrigerate overnight before serving.

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