Chocolate Salted Caramel Cake Mix Cookies

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This kiddo's Love Language is "Acts of Service"...

This means if you want to show him love and bring him joy,

just do something nice for him...

to be specific... bake for him!

to be even more specific... bake him cookies after school!

He LOVES fresh hot cookies right from the oven

 when he gets off the bus,

but that is just not realistic around here.

 

That is until I found THIS PIN!

One of my all time very favorite cookies are THESE

But not only do they take time to make,

they also will mess up your kitchen like crazy. 

So I created this easier (not exactly as amazing as) version.

And these girls can be thrown together

and baked in 20 minutes or less!

 

Ingredients:

1 18oz box of chocolate cake mix

2 eggs

1/3 C canola oil

1/2 C of Caramel Bits

1/3 C of smashed pretzels (with salt)

Just throw it all in a bowl and stir.

I do love sea salt,

but my husband prefers I skip this step.

Roll dough into golf ball-ish sized balls,

dip tops into salt,

and bake at 350' for 8-10 minutes.

 

Big tip here is to let these completely cool

before taking off the cookie sheet.

 

These are amazing and fast.

They are almost as amazing as NAP TIME!!

 

Low Carb Turkey Rolls

 

We just love these turkey rolls!

My mom has made them for years...

They are easy, low card, and wheat free!

 

All you need is love,

turkey (or ham) slices,

1 block of cream cheese,

and a bundle of green onions.

Chop your onions and mix them with the cream cheese.

This works best when the cheese is at room temperature.

Spread about a tablespoon of the mixture

onto a turkey slice.

Roll 'em up!

 

We store them in a plastic tub...

kinda grab and go!

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New Recipe With Extra Veggies

We have been trying lots of new recipes,

since we started our wheat free lifestyle.

We have also tried to double our vegetable intake

and even gone back to meatless Mondays.

This dish- hits all three!

I was inspired by this one HERE

on my pinterest board from Perry's Plate.

(super yummy blog!)

So here is my take on the...

 Veggie Enchilada Casserole

1 poblano chile, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 head of cauliflower, chopped
1 medium onion, sliced
1/2 bag frozen corn
3 T olive oil
1 1/2 tsp cumin
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt and black pepper
2 cups pico de gallo
2 ounces baby spinach
9-10 corn tortillas, halved
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
green onions for garnish

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425'. Lightly oil a large cookie sheet.
Place poblanos, bell peppers, cauliflower, onion, and corn kernels (any other veggies you like) onto cookie sheet. Drizzle on the olive oil and coat with cumin, garlic, salt and pepper. Toss them well,so that it is nice and covered. Lay the vegetables evenly in the pan. Roast for 30 minutes. You can turn or mix the veggies half way through. (PS. we love our veggies just like this, but keep going...)

Reduce the oven to 350' degrees.
Spray your casserole dish with pam or coat in olive oil. Spread 1/4 cup of pico into the bottom of the baking pan. Now start layering... tortillas, veggies, spinach, cheese! Top with with a layer of tortillas, extra cheese, and the green onions. Bake for 20 minutes or until it is heated all the way.We had ours topped with avacado and sour cream!

 

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Peanut Butter Banana Bites

We love real peanut butter around here.

Aside from organic chicken, 

peanut butter is our "must be organic" staple.

Try it... it will change your life.

Speaking of life changing...

Adam and I have read Wheat Belly 

and wow is it eye opening!

I am happy to say we have been wheat free for four weeks!

Trying to gather yummy wheat free snacks I came upon

 Jenny's Banana Nibblers at FitSugar.

She added yogurt and mine are just what they look like...

So we call them...

Banana Bites!

Slice a banana or two and top with a blob of organic peanut butter.  

Chill them like this for about five minutes.  

If you skip this step the tops will slide off!

Pull them out and top them with another slice of banana.

Stick them in the freezer for 20 minutes or so and they are ready.

I have been keeping a baggie of them in the freezer...

the whole family loves to grab a few for a quick and healthy treat!

PLUS, its a much better way to eat your too ripe bananas, 

than baking banana bread- right?

Merry Pinterest: Day 4

 

Around here we like to have mini date nights

when the kids head to bed...

On one such night we made these yummy Candy Cane Cocktails

from SingleMindedGirls.com

(they have 12 holiday cocktails!)

:

Candy Cane Cocktail

 

Ingredients:

2 1-2 oz vodka

1 oz White crème de menthe

1/2 oz Peppermint schnapps

Cream

Splash of Grenadine

Peppermint candy for garnish

Add a dash of grenadine into the bottom of a chilled martini glass and set aside. Pour the rest of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well and strain into the glass with grenadine to create a “swirl” effect. Garnish with a candy cane and sprinkles!!

 

 

We have also made a few more cocktails...

Hot Buttered Rum

Apple Cider with Spiced Rum

and

White Russians

 

Check out the yummy Christmas Cookie Cocktails

 I pinned on my Christmas board, too!

HERE!

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Merry Pinterest: Day 1

SO, ya I know I have not been able to blog much...

yes, I know even my Halloween pics

and Disney World posts are not up, but....

We are really, really excited about Christmas around here...

However, between our big trip to Disney World and

my etsy store busting at the seams I found myself feeling

very overwhelmed with everything I wanted to do, make, eat, and see.

Then after a long soak in the tub and a glass of wine,

I settled on a plan...

I would pick 12 pins off of my Pinterest board (HERE)

 and just make those Christmas pins happen...

ahhh... it has been perfect...

and yummy!

 

One pin the whole family wanted to try was this Gingerbread Cheese Cake!!

This recipe of an original from the great Martha Stewart,

but my pin came from

Munchkin Munchies...

which happens to be one of my newest favorite blogs!!

Ingredients

• All-purpose flour, for dusting
• 1/4 recipe of the dough for Molasses-Gingerbread Cookies
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (my fisrt time with this!)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• 6 gingerbread men (see link above)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wrap exterior of a 9-inch spring form pan in 2 layers of foil.
2. Roll dough to a 13-by-10-inch rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick. Slide dough onto a baking sheet. Bake until firm and golden brown, about 14 minutes. Let cool completely on sheet on a wire rack. Break into large pieces, then pulse in a food processor until finely ground.
3. Combine butter, 1/4 cup sugar, and 2 cups cookie crumbs in a bowl. Press mixture firmly and evenly into bottom and one-third of the way up sides of prepared pan. Bake until set, about 10 minutes. Let cool on rack.
4. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Beat cream cheese with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar and the vanilla, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping sides of bowl as needed. Beat in molasses, salt, spices, and lemon zest. Pour filling into cooled crust.
5. Place cheesecake in a large, shallow roasting pan.(we had to use a jelly roll pan, because our roasting pan was not large enough for the spring form pan-but it works just fine!) Move to oven, and carefully add enough hot water to roasting pan to come about halfway up sides of spring form pan. Bake until cheesecake is set but still slightly wobbly in center, 60 to 65 minutes. Carefully remove spring form pan from roasting pan, and let cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 8 hours (we did this overnight).
6. Before serving, run a hot knife around edges of cheesecake to loosen, and remove sides of pan. Arrange gingerbread cookies in center of cake in a circle (this kids did this)

This was kinda a long baking event... we did it over three days.

Day one we made gingerbread cookies for our gingerbread night

and just set aside the extra dough.  So I did double the cookie recipe.

Day two we made the cake and put it in the fridge...

it was SO hard not to eat it right away! but we had the cookies

from the night before to snack on!

Finally, on day 3 (4&5) we ate this fantastic cheesecake.

We plan on making it again for our family on Christmas Eve!

 

 

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Make Mine Salty AND Sweet Please

 

I have made three batches in one week of these heavenly cookies...

ya see, I have the worst ever salty AND sweet tooth.

Every time I eat something sweet, I must have something salty.

Unfortunately it works the other way around, too!

 

When I saw this salty sweet cookie on Pinterest...

I HAD to try it.  The best part is the sprinkle of salt on top.

Don't be scared to put a whole pinch on... yum!

 

I traced the pin back to The Diary Of Dave's Wife blog...

such a cute blog... you should read it while the cookies bake!

She calls them..

The. Best. Cookie. Ever.

and I would concur!

HERE is the recipe!

Another pinterest find is this salty sweet mix.

Next time I will had dry roasted peanuts.

you can find this recipe HERE from Chex.com

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Organic Pumpkin Butter

Girls, this festive, yumminess is easy AND healthy!

 

It is a great alternative to butter...

as there is no butter in it...

yup, just non-fat yogurt!

 

 I found this recipe a few years ago on

The Pioneer Woman's Website.

(my goodness she is amazing!)

I just made it this season for the first time

to take to a Fall Pinterest Party (post to come on that!)

 I made two batches... shared a little, but enjoyed a lot!

We put it on Adam's homemade buttermilk biscuits

 and his cinnamon pancakes... toast, gram crackets, and even frozen waffles.

Can I get a "HECK, YES!"

(Organic) PUMPKIN BUTTER

from The Pioneer Woman

• 1 cup Pumpkin Puree (I used organic)
• 1 cup Plain, Nonfat Yogurt  (I used organic)
• 1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
• 1 cup  Powdered Sugar (I added extra)

Mix it all up. Store in the refrigerator.

She says it will keep for five to six days,

 but I found it was gone after three!

 

I Party at Tidy Mom  , Six Sixters Stuff and  Cindy's Recipes &Writings!!

Pinterest in the Kitchen

I have been really bored with my usual meals in the kitchen,

so last week I tried not one, but two recipes from my pinterest boards.

I chose these because they were the kind of recipes you could

throw together and head to t-ball or outside to play or

even help with homework while they cook...

I need more of these "easy" recipes now that Mike is in school.

 

First up was...

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

from Organize & Decorate Everything

This is my photo... it was easy and beautiful.

Adam loved it and has since requested it...

I think the Swiss cheese is maybe not my favorite

 and the kids were not impressed.

 

Next time, I think I will split the casserole...

one side as it calls for and the other...

 with cheddar and maybe add in broccoli.

 

Next up was this crock pot recipe that was all over the broads

 for a month and looked yummy...

 

Crock Pot Pizza Pasta

from Cooking With Joey

This is Joey's picture as mine looks horrible and tasted the same.

I have been married for almost eight years and

this was only the 2nd meal deemed "uneatable" by my husband

 and the first ever by my son.

 

I don't think we will try this again...

it was way too mushy...

 

Darn... back to the boards for more ideas!

 

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Wine-A-Rita

 Our local grocery store was giving out samples of this beautiful cocktail...

I did not even have to try to know I was making it that night!

Strawberry Lime Wine-A-Rita

• 1 bottle of Sweet Bliss Pink (or a fruity, sweet wine)
• 2 cups Sprite or 7up
• 2 limes sliced (I used one lime and onelemon)
• 1lb sliced strawberries
• 2 cups of Jose Ceurvo Margarita mix or 1 frozen margarita mix

      1. Combine all ingredients into a pretty pitcher

      2. Set in fridge for 30 minutes or more.

      3. Serve cold or over ice... ahhh. enjoy!

 

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Real Life Pinteresting

I have been on a new recipe kick...

So, I brought a few of my "yummy things to make" pins come to life...

and boy, am I happy I did.

Check out the recipe from Once Upon a Chef

Black Bean Salad with Corn, Red Peppers,

 Avocado & Lime-Cilantro Vinaigrette

First up was this salad/ relish pin.

The above picture is "THE PIN" and the pic below is mine-lol.

Thank goodness ya don't eat the pictures!

Oh, I added the avacado as I ate it, so they would be fresh!

I super love black beans and trust me it tastes as refreshing as it looks.

Perfect for low card lunches or snacks!

Then I made something naughty...

Terribly Terrific Toffee

from A Southern Grace

Before you look... let me warn you...

First, you just might have all four ingredients in your kitchen right now.

2nd, they take no time to make.

and my last warning... you will not be able to stop eating these!

Why? Because they are both salty and sweet... thus the cycle never stops!

Okay, you've been warned... proceed...

   Above is "THE PIN"

Below is my picture...

I added nuts to half and I am now seeing my layers were wrong...

But, damn they were good!

So good in

fact I made two batches in one week!!

While I am at it here are two more Pioneer Women Recipes we have made...

I am pretty sure that brings me to about a dozen of her recipes and EVERY one is a keeper.

Especially this olive loaf... and I don't even like olives!!

Olive Cheese Bread.

Don't worry, you do have to endure any more of my food photos!

It barley made it to the oven with out being eaten,

much less sat around waiting for me to find the camera!

This is great for entertaining!!

We followed up the bread with her shrimp pasta.

Mmmmm... it was so good!

I could not find you a photo or the recipe on her blog,

(it is not the foil one)

but I can highly recommend her first cookbook....

because that is where it is.

I has no intentions of buying her book because her blog is so great,

but then I borrowed it from a neighbor and Adam really liked it.

So we bought it and will be getting her new one, too!!

Okay.  So there you go.  Bet your hungry!

Hope you are inspired to try a new recipe!

Fire and Ice Pickles

For several years my Aunt-In-Law, Glenda has been making this for Christmas!

We all look so forward to them and they do NOT last long.

This Christmas she passed the torch down to my BIL

who tried his hand at making a batch-

and yup! He nailed it!

Since grilling and pic-nic season is upon us-

I thought I would pass the torch on to you!

Photo Credit

Ingredients

• 2 jars (32 ounces each) dill pickle slices or spears
• 4 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled

Directions

• Drain and discard juice from pickles. In a large bowl, combine pickles, sugar, pepper sauce and pepper flakes; mix well. Cover and let stand 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Spoon pickles and liquid into 3 pint-size jars; add a garlic clove to each. Cover and refrigerate 1 week before serving. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 3 pints

This recipe is from Taste Of Home Pin It

Pumpkin Dump Cake

Last night we made this... All I can say is "WOW" This heavenly recipe was floating around Pinterest from Cookies & Cups! We used Carmel instead of toffee and topped it with pumpkin ice cream! My entire house smelled like fall goodness... ya better make this one, girls! Pin It

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Adam and I saw these in our current issue of Food Net Work Magazine...

we knew we had to make them!

And holy moly are we glad we did!

 

PUMPKIN WHOOPIE PIES

From the Neely's

Cookies...
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch salt

Filling (I would suggest doubling the filing!):
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Using a stand mixer, add the butter and sugar and beat together until light and fluffy. Add the egg, then the buttermilk and the vanilla. Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the dry ingredients in increments to the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined.

 

Drop heaping tablespoons of the batter onto parchment lined sheet trays, leaving a 2-inch space between each cookie. Put in the oven and bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on rack. Beat together the cream cheese and butter, in a small bowl, until smooth. Slowly add in the confectioners sugar. Once smooth, add the pumpkin puree, the cinnamon and a pinch of salt. Beat until smooth and well mixed.

 

To assemble the cookie, spread a heaping tablespoon of the filling to the flat side of a cookie and sandwich with another. Repeat with the remaining cookies. Transfer to a serving platter and serve These were a messy and fun to make as they were to eat!

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Homemade Pumpkin Coffee Creamer

It just happens to be the start of my very favorite time of year, which means it is time for one of my very favorite guilty pleasures... pumpkin coffee creamer!

Lucky me, stumbled upon this wonderful organic cooking blog, Deliciously Organic who happens to have several recipes for making your very own creamer. We have already made 3 batches of this stuff... mmmm... fall heaven in a jar!

Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer

1cup of organic whole milk

1cup of organic heavy whipping cream

3 tablespoons of organic pumpkin puree (I used 4-ha!)

1 teaspoon of pumpkin spice

4 table Maple Syrup (I prefer pretty high quality you can taste the difference) 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

(I also added 1 teaspoon of cinnamon)

Whisk milk, cream, pumpkin, syrup, and pumpkin spice together over medium heat. When it gets steamy remove from heat and add in the vanilla. Use a strainer to transfer the cream into a kar or pitcher... do not skip this step, trust me. I used a recycled frapachino bottle! Let it cool down and chill it the refrigerator. We have found that the flavor is stronger the next day. Another hint... the site suggests making a double batch but refrain for being as eager as we were-lol... one batch it makes a ton and it is so easy why not just make if fresh every few days.

Some other flavors on the site include... peppermint mocha, cinnamon strudel, and chocolate almond. Now, if that doesn't start you day off right, I am just not sure what would!!

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