(A link to) Mexican Stuffed Shells

Recipe challenge, week thirty-four. Kind of.

I can't lie. I haven't cooked in awhile.  In fact, grocery shopping isn't even fun anymore. In fact-in fact, I stopped at Chick-fila for dinner the other day when I knew Scott wouldn't be home until late.  I really just wanted a giant unsweetened tea, but I figured a chicken wrap would hold me over as I hunkered down to two hours of paperwork on a Thursday night.  How boring, right? The dogs weren't happy about it, but someone has to work to buy all those treats....

In fact, I've taken a step back from social media in general because I like to be intentional with things and right now I'm busy being intentional with things other than blogging.  Mostly school stuff.  But I've been insisting on half an hour of Pilates (at least) every day. It takes an extreme amount of forethought to put a workout into a busy day, and I'm the first one to admit that I've been going to bed too late.  However, dinner has barely been getting made because by the time I leave school, drive 30 minutes home, and I feed/walk/play with the dogs, it's almost 6pm and I have stuff to do and I end up putting something together for Scott and I just eat whatever.  It's not a practice I recommend.  If I'm lucky, I keep up with the laundry and dishes as the week goes on. Which means not often.

However, I made these stuffed shells weeks ago and took them to my friend who'd just had a baby.  I made a double batch so we had dinner for two nights too.  I do love freezer cooking and this is a great example of something you can make, wrap up tightly, stick in the freezer, and pull out on a busy day.

 It's not my recipe;  I googled "healthy Mexican stuffed shells" and this is what came up.  So I don't know if this counts because I didn't invent it. But it IS new and I DID make it and it's not like I'm writing a cookbook or plagiarizing, right?

I'll just post the link.  Just in case.

Carrot Cake Blondies

Recipe challenge, week twelve.

I'm getting worse and worse at having posts typed up early and ready to go.  I'm typing this on Sunday evening whereas, a month ago, I would've had the post ready to go a week ago.  

I've been feeling that I'm in a blogging rut lately because things are so stagnant around here.  No big projects are happening with the house*, I'm not packing up a classroom because we're not moving, and that brings up a bigger point:  this is the first spring in 3 years that we're not moving.  I did the math recently, and I'm not sure why I didn't do this before, but we moved in April 2013 and again in May 2014.  That's 3 states in 13 months.  3 jobs in 13 months for Scott and, because of summer vacation, 3 jobs in 15 months for me.  Plus two new puppies in 13 months (fun fact: Jett and Scout are totally Irish twins).

*Another fun fact: the kitchen/dining room is actually 98% done but you haven't seen pictures because I'm...lazy? That's probably the right word.

Maybe I'm not getting posts typed up and scheduled early because I keep all of these facts in the forefront of my brain and I get overwhelmed thinking of all the things.

I do feel that I don't have a lot of fun or new changes to blog about because things are indeed stagnant.  I can't make a whole lot of changes while Scott is gone anyway.

But some things will never change: I will make brownies or blondies, I will eat half the batch of frosting with a spoon, and then I will take the finished blondies to the staff lounge because I need to get them out of the house as quickly as possible.

This is the perfect Easter dessert.  That's all I have to say about it.

Carrot Cake Blondies

makes an 8x8 pan (double recipe for 9x13, but the frosting will make enough for a 9x13)

Wet ingredients:

4 T. butter, softened

1/4 cup applesauce

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/8 cup white sugar

1 egg

2 t. vanilla

1 cup finely shredded carrot

Dry ingredients:

1 cup flour

1 t. cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup shredded coconut (optional)

1 cup white chocolate chips (optional)

1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

In a large bowl, cream the butter, applesauce, and sugars.  After the mixture is fluffy, add in the egg and vanilla until well-incorporated.  Stir in the carrot.

In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients.  Add in batches to the wet ingredients, mixing well after each addition.  Stir in the coconut, white chocolate chips, and nuts.  Spread the batter into a greased 8x8 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  Frost immediately and store in the refrigerator. 

Cream Cheese Frosting 

For this recipe, halve the frosting...Or don't. It'd be good for breakfast too, I'm sure.  Just be sure to store it in the refrigerator. I halved it and still had extra.

1 tub of whipped cream cheese (8 oz.)
1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)
1 t. vanilla
about 3 cups powdered sugar (I don't like giving exact numbers on the sugar.  You know the consistency you want.)
1 T. meringue powder (Optional, but will help the frosting harden.  Found in the wedding aisle at Wal-Mart)

Cream the butter and cream cheese together, using a hand mixer or the whisk on a stand mixer.  Add the vanilla.  Then, add the sugar until you reach the consistency you want.  Add the meringue powder last.

Pumpkin Spice Brownies

Yesterday, I whined about how I never bake anymore and then I blamed Pinterest and the general food-blogging population.

However, over the the weekend, I started baking.  First, pumpkin cookies.  Then, I came up with a brand new recipe.  I used a basic brownie recipe that I've adapted from Rachael Ray magazine and I changed it up for this pumpkin-loving season.  

I have 3 giant cans of pumpkin to use.  I always buy a lot when given the opportunity because you never know when the mood for pumpkin desserts will strike.  I was thinking about what I could make and I thought of brownies.  I didn't want to rip off a recipe that had already been done over and over again, so I searched Pinterest and Google to see if there was already a recipe out there.  There were a couple and they fit directly into the two categories I mentioned yesterday.  There was something vegan, with xylitol and almond meal or something and then there was 1 can of pumpkin + one box of brownie mix.
Mmmmm, right?

Here's a real pumpkin brownie recipe that is quick to whip up and is fudgy and decadent enough to impress.

Pumpkin Spice Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting

makes an 8x8 pan

2 T. butter, softened
4 T. cocoa powder
1/2 cup pumpkin
1 t. vanilla
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 T. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup chocolate chips

With a mixer, combine the butter, cocoa powder, pumpkin, vanilla, eggs, and sugar.  Mix on low until combined.  Hand mixer or stand mixer will work best, but you can use a big wooden spoon too, if the butter is soft enough. Stir in the flour and pumpkin pie spice until everything is well-combined.  Fold in the chocolate chips.

Pour into a greased 8x8 pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.  Check the center with a toothpick after 25 minutes.

Allow to cool and then frost with Cream Cheese Frosting, or a frosting of your choice.  If you use cream cheese in the frosting, be sure to store the brownies in the fridge.

1 tub of whipped cream cheese (8 oz.)
1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)
1 t. vanilla
about 3 cups powdered sugar (I don't like giving exact numbers on the sugar.  You know the consistency you want.)
1 T. meringue powder (Optional, but will help the frosting harden.  Found in the wedding aisle at Wal-Mart)

Cream the butter and cream cheese together, using a hand mixer or the whisk on a stand mixer.  Add the vanilla.  Then, add the sugar until you reach the consistency you want.  Add the meringue powder last.

Quick Apple Cake

On Sunday morning, I had to turn the air conditioning on.  It was like 70 degrees outside and sticky.  So, I hung some Christmas decorations to the buzz of an a/c unit that was optimizing the indoor temperature to a non-sticky 68 degrees.  So odd.  

Later, we went for a walk.  I wore shorts.  

This is a strange land.  

If anything, I think that maybe Pennsylvania agrees with me more than I ever thought it did.  I like cool falls, short winters, and hot summers.  However, I do not care for the lack of spring that seems to exist in Pennsylvania.  I never got a spring in Alaska...remember my flip-flops in the slush?

I'm not by any stretch ready for snow.  That stuff is trouble.  But I wouldn't mind a solid 45 degrees and sunny for the next 3 months.  We'll see what happens I guess.

Fall is almost over, but it's not too late to make a tasty fall dessert!

This is a quick cake for the time of year when you want something "fall" but don't have a lot of time.  It's actually quicker than an apple crisp, which is my usual go-to during this season, because you just stir it all together in one bowl.  It's a lot like a coffee cake; perfect for brunch too.

Quick Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

makes one 9" pie pan

1 cup flour

1 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

1 t. cinnamon

1 egg

2 t. vanilla

3 T. apple butter

1 T. melted butter

1/4 cup apple sauce

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 large baking apple (I used Granny Smith), peeled and finely diced

3/4 cup butterscotch chips

Stir all of the ingredients together very well with a wooden spoon in a big bowl (really, that's it).

Pour into a greased 9" pie pan (I used glass) or an 8x8" pan.  Bake at 375 degrees for 13-15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out of the center clean.

Let cool and then spread on the Cream Cheese frosting.  If you're pressed for time, use a can of cream cheese frosting.  Either way, you can't go wrong!  I like to spread it on while the cake is warm.

Cream Cheese Frosting

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 stick (4 T) butter, softened

1 t. vanilla

2-ish cups powdered sugar (maybe more depending on the consistency you'd like)

1/2 T. meringue powder (optional, but will help the frosting harden)

With an electric mixer, cream together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla.  Once smooth, start adding in the powdered sugar and then the meringue powder.  Mix until all is blended together.  Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

*This was originally shared on Meg's blog last week...check it out there for the story behind the recipe!*

Cake Batter Rice Krispy Treats

I'm not messing around with this one.

I followed a recipe (that usually doesn't happen).  I made these particularly thick and chewy.  They were, hands down, the best rice krispy treats, I'd ever had.  I credit the frosting I mixed into the melted marshmallows.

I think I ate, maybe, 6 rice krispy treats in my entire life up until the summer of 2008.

At that point, I had just graduated college and was living at home.  In between job interviews, working at a bar, and pathetic attempts at trying to run, I started making rice krispy treats quite often.  I'm not sure where this came from, other than the fact that my mom kept very well-stocked cupboards, and there were always marshmallows and rice krispies available.  I made a pan at least a few nights a week and, if we're being honest, I ate most of it right out of the pot I stirred it up in.  I do that with no-bake cookies too.

I forgot about my deep-seeded love for the rice krispy treat until last spring when I started creating some new combinations.  S'mores, Funfetti, White Chocolate. 

But these ones?  They are the ultimate rice krispy treat.

Cake Batter Rice Krispy Treats

From the back of the cereal box

1/2 cup yellow cake mix (or white, or funfetti, or whatever)

1/2 cup cream cheese frosting

1 10-oz bag mini marshmallows

4 T. butter

1 t. vanilla

6 cup Rice Krispy cereal

In a large saucepan, melt the butter.  Stir in the cake mix, cream cheese frosting, vanilla, and mini marshmallows. Mix well until the marshmallows have melted. 

Fold in the cereal until it's all covered with the marshmallow mixture.

Spread into an 8x8 pan for thick bars or a 9x13 pan for thinner ones.

Happy Rice-Krispy-Treat-Eating!

Peanut Butter and Cream Cheese Frosting

"Happy" Monday all!

source

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Let's get this straight.  I don't bake banana bread because I won't eat an entire frosting-slathered loaf.  I usually don't bake banana bread because I WILL eat an entire frosting-slathered loaf.  Herein lies the problem.

Once again, I do not understand people who don't like food.  Who don't think about food all day long.  I'm plotting dinner on Thursday night before I go to sleep on Wednesday night.  I thought about this frosting all-the-day-long.  And then I dug in. 

It's a hard life...

...when you have to eat frosting with a spoon.

Peanut Butter and Cream Cheese Frosting
makes 3 cups
I put it on banana bread

1 8oz block cream cheese, softened (I used "1/3 less fat".  Ha ha ha.)
1 t. vanilla
1/2 c.  peanut butter
3 T. butter, softened
1/4 cup milk (or more as needed)
 3-4 cups powdered sugar (or more if needed for desired consistency)

 With an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese, butter, peanut butter and vanilla together.  Add half the milk.  Start adding in the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, and alternating with the milk if needed.
Slather onto your favorite cake, brownies, or cookies.  Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Linking up to:
Mingle Monday 
Crazy Sweet Tuesday
Tasty Tuesday