Better than Sex Chex Mix

The recipe is definitely not diet friendly but it is oohhhhh, soooo freakin good!!! I first made it for a camping trip I went on with friends in Pine Valley, we had it devoured by the end of the night.  Mmmm,  I just love it!!!

{Recipe and photo courtesy of www.chef-in-training.com}

8 cups Chocolate Chex cereal (I actually prefer to use the Cinnamon Chex.  The chocolate ones are too chocolately, even for me!)

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

6 Tbsp. butter

3 Tbsp. Light Corn Syrup

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 cup MINI Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

1 cup mini marshmallows

1/2 cup caramel bits

1 Tbsp. heavy cream

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips (more if you would like)

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

2 tsp. coarse sea salt (Don't skip this part!!! It really adds to the flavor, trust me!)

Pour measured cereal into a large microwaveable bowl.

Line cookie sheet with waxed paper or foil.

In 2-cup microwaveable measuring up, microwave brown sugar, butter and corn syrup uncovered on high for 1-2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute, until melted and smooth. Stir in baking soda until dissolved. Pour caramel mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated.

Microwave on high for 3 minutes, stirring every minute. Spread on cookie sheet. Cool 10 minutes.

Break into bite-sized pieces.

Make sure Chex mixture is cool to the touch (so candy doesn’t melt). Evenly sprinkle mini peanut butter cups candy and mini marshmallows over the Chex mixture.

In a small microwaveable bowl, microwave caramel baking bits and cream uncovered on high for 1 minute or until chips can be stirred smooth. Use a spoon or fork to drizzle over Chex mixture.

Repeat with milk chocolate baking chips and again with the white baking chips.

Quickly sprinkly coarse ssalt over all the chex mixture while candy drizzles are still wet.Refrigerate until set. Break apart and store in tightly covered container.

Avocado, Mozzarella and Brushcetta Chicken {with balsamic glaze}

This recipe is soooo good!! A super healthy and fresh meal in like 15-20 minutes, easy peasy!  I had no idea that if you boiled balsamic vinegar that it turned sweet and thickened up!  Geoff said it tasted like "restaurant quality" and that he would definitely order it again. Pffft, he's just trying to get brownie points.  But, if I do say so myself, it was absolutely delicious!!

{Picture recipe courtesy of www.iowagirleats.com}

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1 cup balsamic vinegar
• 4 chicken breasts, pounded to the same thickness
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt & pepper
• 1/2 cup pre-made bruschetta topping
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 4oz mozzarella cheese, sliced (or 1 cup shredded)
• baby spinach or pasta, for serving

Instructions

• Pour balsamic vinegar into a small saucepan then bring to a boil. Turn heat down to medium then simmer and reduce until vinegar is thick enough to coat a spoon, about 20 minutes. (Vinegar will continue to thicken while cooling.) Set aside to cool.
• Place oven rack in top position then preheat broiler. Brush chicken breasts with extra virgin olive oil then season with salt and pepper on both sides. Brush a large skillet over medium-high heat with oil then add chicken breasts and cook for 4-5 minutes a side, or until no longer pink in the center.
• Transfer chicken to a foil-lined, nonstick sprayed baking sheet then top with 2 Tablespoons bruschetta mixture, 3-4 slices avocado, and 1 oz mozzarella each. Broil until cheese has melted then serve over spinach or cooked pasta, and drizzle with the balsamic vinegar reduction.

Ranch Chicken Enchiladas

Last weekend I bought 2 rotisserie chickens from Wal Mart, both for $7.00, SCORE!!! We got SOOOO MUCH chicken off of them.  This recipe says to cook the chicken in the crockpot, but I used some of the rotisserie chicken (I still have a ton left!) This recipe was good, but I do think it would have better flavor if you cooked it like she said.  A great meal for all of us ranch lovers!

{Recipe and photo courtesy of www.therecipecritic.com}

Ingredients:

3-4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

1 package chicken taco seasoning

1 package ranch dry salad dressing

1/2 cup bottled ranch

1/2 cup salsa

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 can chicken broth

1 package white flour tortillas

1.   Cook and shred the chicken.  I cooked mine in the slow cooker with the ranch packet and taco seasoning packages in the chicken broth.  The chicken just peeled apart.  I cooked it on low for about 3-4 hours.

2. Mix the 1/2 cup of ranch and 1/2 salsa in a bowl.  Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray and spread a very thin layer of the mixture on the bottom.

3. Start assembling the enchiladas by putting 2 Tbs of the ranch and salsa mixture on the bottom of tortilla.  Then put the shredded chicken on top of that.  Sprinkle with cheese and roll it up.

4. Line up the enchiladas in the 9x13 pan and sprinkle heavily with the cheddar cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling and enchiladas are heated through.

5. Drizzle the top with ranch and enjoy!

Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

This was the cake I made for Geoff's birthday.  I was the very first cake that I've ever made from scratch, sad huh?!  It was a super easy cake to make.  I don't know why I've been intimidated to make a cake from scratch before.  It's a really pretty cake too.  The perfect Red Velvet taste, not too chocolately.....just perfection.

{Recipe and photo courtesy of www.bakerella.com}

Red Velvet Cake
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 Tablespoon cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 Tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 oz. red food coloring

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease and flour two 8 inch cake pans.
• Lightly stir eggs in a medium bowl with a wire whisk. Add remaining liquid ingredients and stir together with whisk until blended. Set aside.
• Place all the dry ingredients in your mixing bowl and stir together really good with another wire whisk.
• Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix on medium-high for about a minute or until completely combined.
• Pour into cake pans and then drop the pans on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles.
• Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• After about ten minutes, remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack. I also cover in plastic wrap while the cakes cool.
• Then make the frosting

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 cups confectioners’ sugar

• Sift sugar and set aside.
• Beat cream cheese and butter on high until creamy. Add vanilla.
• Then, add the sugar in batches. Scrape down the sides in between each addition.
• And frost away.

The Best Cobbler You've Ever Had!

We have a lot of bottles of peaches from Costco taking up room in our fridge, and I wanted to use them up.  I searched for what I could make with them and came upon this lovely and scrumptious recipe.  This really is the best cobbler I've ever had, and I usually don't like warm fruit or cobbler.  Super fast and easy to whip up.  I would recommend letting it cool for at least 30 mins after it's done, just so it can set.  Geoff likes it the next day cold, so whatever blows your skirt up.  Would be yummy with other fruit too.

{Recipe and photo courtesy of www.rachelschultz.com}

Ingredients

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• ⅓ cup butter
• 2 large eggs
• 29 ounces canned (or fresh!) peaches
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• ⅓ cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, butter, and 1 egg. Mix ingredients with fork until crumbly. Separate ½ cup of crumble for topping.
2. Spray a 9×13 glass dish with cooking spray. Using a spoon or your fingers, press remaining crumble into base of dish.
3. Bake for 10 minutes. While crust bakes, slice peaches into small, 1 inch pieces.
4. In a small bowl, beat together cream cheese, sugar, 1 egg, and vanilla until creamy. Layer peaches on top of baked crust. Spread cream cheese mixture on top of peaches.
5. Top with reserved crumbs and bake for 30 minutes. Allow to cool for 30 additional minutes and serve with vanilla ice cream. I didn’t even mention how versatile this dish is. Try with other fruits – perhaps blackberries, lemon pie filling, or something crazy like pineapple.

Ham and Cheese Sliders

I have been checking out this recipe for quite some time and I finally made them.  Geoff love them so much that we made them for his family for Sunday dinner the very next day.  We paired these little gems with my Southwestern BBQ Chicken Salad (recipe to follow) and it was a hit!

{Image and recipe courtesy of www.thegirlwhoateeverything.blogspot.com}

Ingredients:
24 good white dinner rolls (another recipe says to use the Hawaiin rolls that come all together. We used mini buns (slider buns) and they worked just fine.)

24 pieces good honey ham
24 small slices Swiss cheese
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup miracle whip
Poppy seed sauce
1 Tablespoon poppyseeds
1 1/2 Tablespoons yellow mustard
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 Tablespoon minced onion
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Instructions:
In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise and miracle whip. Spread onto both sides of the center of each roll. Place a slice of ham and a slice of Swiss inside of each roll. Close rolls and place them into a large baking dish or heavy cookie sheet. Place very close together.

In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the poppy seed sauce ingredients. Pour evenly over all of the sandwiches. You do not have to use all of the sauce! Just use enough to cover the tops. Let sit 10 minutes or until butter sets slightly. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Uncover and cook for 2 additional minutes or until tops are slightly brown and crispy. Serve warm.

Note: Sandwiches can be assembled a day ahead and kept in the fridge ready to bake.