Chocolate Lasagna

This here is chocolaty goodness found from Oh My God Chocolate Desserts! If you know me, you know I am not chocolates #1 fan. However, I will be the #1 fan for this form of chocolate. Occasion to why I made this layered beauty is for family game night with mine and my best friend's family. Her family loves chocolate, so I figured what would be better than a chocolate lasagna?

Each layer is so different in texture and flavor and when you take that first bite with all four layers its an awesome senstaion for your taste buds. Easy to make and easy to consume. ENJOY

Ingredients

36 Oreo cookies (1 pack, not double stuffed)

6 tbsp butter, melted

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tbsp cold milk

12 oz tub Cool Whip, divided

2 - 3.9 oz pkg Chocolate Instant Pudding

3 1/4 cups cold milk

Mini chocolate chips 

Directions

Finely crush 36 Oreo cookies in a food processor. {Make sure the Oreos are now fine crumbs because you will be making a crust.} In a large bowl, with a fork, mix Oreo crumbs into the melted butter. When the butter is mixed, transfer it to a 9x13 inch dish and using a spatula press down the crumbs to the bottom of dish. Place the crusted dish in the refrigerator. While crust is chilling, mix the softened cream cheese until it is fluffy, add sugar and 2 tablespoons of milk, and mix well. Stir in 1 and 1/4 cups Cool Whip. Spread the mixture over the crust. Place back in the fridge. In a medium bowl, mix chocolate instant pudding with 3 and 1/4 cups cold milk. Whisk for a few minutes until the pudding starts to thicken. Spread the pudding over the cream cheese layer. Let it sit for 10 minutes to firm uo the pudding {no need to place back in fridge}. Spread remaining Cool Whip over the top and sprinle with as many chocolate chips as you'd like (:
Freeze for 1 hour or refrigerate for 4 hours before serving.

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Tuna Casserole

I love tuna and I love casseroles, so make it a dish and I am there with a plate and a fork ready to eat! Thank you Mrs. Lilien for sharing this simply and yummy casserole! I made a half batch since I was baking for me, myself, and I and there was still a decent amount of leftovers so thank goodness I split the batch! The problem with halving it is that I didn't have enough cream of mushroom in it! Dry tuna casserole is not as yummy as creamy tuna casserole... So these measurements below are up to you, I always love more sauce and more cheese! These ingredients are simple and you probably have it in your kitchen right now; I know I had the majority. The green from the peas adds a pop of color and you also get some, what are those called?, oh veggies! These recipe has everything I enjoy eating, so yes, I will be making this yummy casserole again, but with more sauce and cheese{and maybe some peas ;)}!

Ingredients

1/2 cup frozen peas

2 cans white tuna, drained and fluffed

1/2 onion, chopped

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 can (10.75oz) cream of mushroom soup

1 bag (16oz) egg noodles, cooked and drained

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Oven 350
 Start by cooking the egg noodles according to the package. While that is cooking, start to open your cans and mix it in a bowl, or even the baking dish. Mix together the tuna, chopped onion, peas and cheddar cheese - add your cream of mushroom soup with a little milk if you'd like. Season with salt and pepper, then add the cooked and strained noodles to the pile of deliciousness. Mix up the casserole some more to combine all the ingredients. Bake for 30 minutes until nice and bubbly; let it cool for at least 5 minutes so you don't burn your mouth off!

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Pumpkin Fluff

This is such an easy recipe! This makes a large batch, so it is great for large parties. My family has used this for about two party occasions during this Christmas season. Although it takes time to chill, its a quick prep and then you can go on with cleaning the place for your upcoming party, or go get ready for someone else's party. Anyways, everyone has loved it. So, if you need a quick dish for an upcoming party, give this one a try. I did not do this, but the original source, Budget Girl, topped hers off with whipped cream. I will definitely have to do that next time, because there will be a next time. Have a happy holiday and I hope you enjoy this recipe!

Ingredients

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree

1 (8 oz) container Cool Whip

1 (5 oz) packet vanilla instant pudding

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice, optional

Dash of cinnamon, to taste

Directions

Combine all ingredients in to a bowl and mix with a hand mixer. Spoon mixture into desired serving dish and chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours.
Boom, you're done.

I served my fluff with ginger snaps, but other great dipping options are: graham crackers, Nilla Wafers, or animal crackers.

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Oreo Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Merry Christmas! 

 This year I have actually had time to bake and cook things this break! Here is one of the recipes I was able to make. These cookies are exceptional. Everyone who tried these bundles of sweetness enjoyed them. It was hard not to eat more than one. However, they are pretty rich so that helps stop the urge to continue shoveling them into your mouth. Not everyone is a fan of peppermint, but if you are these are a good choice to satisfy your craving. The best part, in my opinion, is that you use cake mix. It makes the flavor and texture so much better than your average cookie. But hey, this isn't your average cookie; you've got cake mix, cream cheese, Oreo's, peppermint, AND chocolate chips. So many different flavors! But oh so yummy.

Enjoy your Christmas, or whichever holiday you celebrate, and let your tummies be filled with joy too!

Ingredients

1 box white cake mix

1 stick butter, melted

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 cup Oreo cookies, broken into chuncks

1 cup Andes Peppermint Crunch pieces

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions

Oven 350
{dough will have to sit for 30 minutes so don't make this in a rush}
Combine the cake mix, melted butter, egg, and vanilla extract. Beat until a soft dough forms. Add the softened cream cheese and beat in gently until combined. Stir in the peppermint pieces and chocolate chips. Then gently stir in the cookie chunks. Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes.  
Roll the dough into 36 balls. Bake on a cookie sheet for 9 minutes. Do not over bake; the cookies will be very soft and look undone. Let them sit on the hot cookie sheet for 2 minutes, with a spatula gently move them to a piece of wax paper. Very gently tap the tops of the cookies with the bottom of the spatula to even out the tops. Let them sit until completely cool. 
Store in a sealed container. 

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Adapted from Inside Bru Crew Life

Zucchini Relish

Here something that my fridge never goes without, zucchini relish. I put this on several different things: hot dogs, burgers, tuna salad sandwiches, etc. This makes a huge batch of relish, so if you are planning on making this be prepared to spread the love. A heads up, this is a sweet relish. This recipe takes two days because you will have to let the veggies sit overnight in salt water. This batch makes a huge amount of relish, which is great because my family is stocked with relish for usually an entire year. So stock up or spread the love!
Tater is not a huge fan of sweet relish, but guess what? She likes this! YAY!
Ingredients

10 cups zucchini, shredded

{10-15 medium zucchini}

4 cups onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

2 1/2 cup white vinegar

4 cups sugar

2 tsp celery seed

2 tsp mustard seed

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp corn starch

1/2 tsp pepper

NON-IODIZED salt

Directions

Make sure to shred the zucchini before measuring the 10 cups, chop the zucchini, onions, and peppers into very small pieces. Place in a large bowl and cover with water. Sprinkle with non-iodized salt over the top and mix. Let stand overnight.
Next morning, pour into strainer and rinse with cold water. Place into a large pot. In a separate bowl, combine white vinegar, sugar, celery seed, mustard seed, turmeric, corn starch, and pepper. In the large pot, add these ingredients to drained zucchini mixture; bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.
Place in hot sterilized jars and seal each jar immediately.

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Jalapeno Crescent Poppers

Makes 16 or 32 little Crescent Poppers

These yummy creations were found on My Homemade Life. What is unique about this recipe is that she added sugar to the cream cheese mixture! Sugar? Who would of thought? Surprisingly, it is actually tasty. Nothing like a little bit of sugar to sweeten up that spice. I made these for me and my roomie as our brain food for finals last week. What better than warm cream cheesy goodness? How 'bout all A's on my finals!!! Back to the poppers... other than finals week ;) these bad boys are great for game days. So easy to make and so easy to disappear, so I suggest you make double or even triple(!) depending on your head count. Mix, spread, and roll away to a yummy treat! Enjoy

Ingredients

1 tube original Crescent Rolls

4oz can Diced Jalapenos {only using half}

8oz cream cheese, softened, cubed {only using 3/4}

1 tbsp sugar

Directions

Oven 375
In a bowl, cube about 3/4 of your cream cheese. Add about half of your Jalapeños and tablespoon of sugar {I added more Jalapeños to the batch since the sugar made it sweeter, I needed more spice!}. Taste your cream cheese mixture and see how the flavor is, you may want to add more Jalapeños since the sugar sweetens it up a bit. Your choice! Take your fork and mash it all up really well. Set your bowl of cream cheese aside. Open up your tube of crescent rolls and place on your cutting board. Separate them to where you have two large rectangles{don't tear the triangles that form the rectangle}. Now pinch together the perforations to create the rectangles. You can use a rolling pin if you need too. With the back of a spoon, spread half of the cream cheese mixture onto one of the rectangles. Save the other half of the mixture for the other rectangle. 
Once you've spread your half portion of cream cheese on one of your rectangles, start with the LONG end of the triangle {think of it like when you fold your piece of paper hotdog style} and get to rollin'. Once it's all rolled up, you will need to cut your log into 16 {or 8 if you want bigger pieces} pinwheels. I stuck my rolls into the freezer to harden up a bit so I could cut them easier, but keep an eye on them you don't want them frozen! If you have one, make sure you use a sharp knife, that'll also make it easier to cut. Here is a break down of how to cut them into 16 - I'm not very good at math so this helped me-  Cut your log right in half. Now you should have two logs.  Then cut those two logs in half, and now you should have four logs. Now, cut these rolls in half and now you have eight smaller logs. This is where I stopped because I was not about to try cutting these tiny rolls into even smaller rolls. But, if you feel like taking on the challenge, cut those lil pieces one last time. You now have 16 {or 8} pinwheel poppers. Repeat with the other roll. So now you should have 32 mini rolls {or 16 larger rolls}. You can roll and cut the second rectangle while the first batch is baking.
Spray a cookie sheet with Pam and place your first set of 16 poppers, standing up. Make sure you stand them up, with the cream cheese facing upward. Pop these into the oven for about 13 minutes until they are golden brown.  Keep an eye on them, as each oven varies.

Once they are done, immediately slide them off the cookie sheet, onto a plate, and eat up because they are best fresh out of the oven.

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Cheesy Pesto Pull Apart Bread

I have mainly been making meals, so I figured I'd make something different. I love cheese and I love bread and I love pesto. Basically, I love this dish. Every week me and my roommates Miranda and Tater will make a meal. This week was Miranda's; she made a delicious cheesy chicken spaghetti. I've been wanting to try this recipe so I figured it would go well with this meal. Maybe that's just my excuse to make this because I would eat this with any meal.
I made this with store bought pesto, however, the website I got this recipe from, Shortcut Kitchen, provides ingredients and directions on how to make pesto.
Either way, this recipe is a must.

Ingredients

1 can refrigerator biscuits

1/2 cup pesto (you can make your own or use jarred)

1/2 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

For Pesto 

1 cup basil or spinach

1/4 tsp pine nuts

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1-3 tbsp olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine the pesto ingredients in a food processor. Blend on high until smooth.
Cut each biscuit into quarters. Place in a greased oven safe baking dish.
Spread the pesto over the top of the biscuits, being sure to distribute evenly. (I used a teaspoon to spread mine out in small dollops)
Spread the Monetary Jack cheese on top of the biscuits and pesto. Top with the Parmesan cheese.
Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until cooked through and cheese begins to brown.

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Browned Butter Salty Pumpkin Sugar Cookies

Here is another pumpkin recipe for you all!

These cookies are the perfect holiday treat, or even fall treat. 

If you're not a huge fan of sweet treats, these are great.

This past week I got to go home and spend my time with my family, celebrating Thanksgiving. This year my cousin Carly and her husband came to visit us. While she was in town she really wanted to make something with me. Her request were these delicious goodies. She asked my opinion on salted desserts. I have never really tried salted desserts, so I figured this would be a good treat to start my new found love. These cookies are moist and chewy and fluffy; basically the perfect cookies. Thank you Carly for converting me to salty sweets and showing me this amazing recipe. If you have never tried salty sweets, this is the place to start.
So, if you're in the mood for perfect holiday {or any day} cookies, give this scrumptious recipe a try!

Recipe from: The Spiffy Cookie

Makes approx. 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients

14 tbsp unsalted butter

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1-1/2 tsp baking powder 

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 egg yolk

1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup pure pumpkin puree

Coarse sea salt, for garnish

Directions

{Make sure you plan ahead with this recipe; a couple things need to sit for awhile}
First off you need to prepare the brown butter. In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, frequently stir the butter until melted and foamy. Continue to cook until brown specks begin to appear and it has a nutty aroma. Remove from heat and transfer to a glass bowl to cool.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon {we added extra cinnamon, because why not!} then set aside.
After the butter had cooled to a reasonable temperature {ours was still warm}, beat in the sugars. Next, add in the egg yolk, vanilla, and pumpkin puree, and beat until combined. Gradually fold in the flour mixture until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350; line cookie sheet with parchment paper or use baking spray. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place on prepared cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart, and flatten slightly. Bake 8-10 minutes, or until edges of cookies are just barely browned and centers are set. Immediately after removing the cookies from the oven, sprinkle them with the coarse sea salt. Let cool on sheets for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

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Unfortunately we ate all the cookies before Tater got to try them...they were just so yummy

But knowing her, this is probably the rating she would give

Cream Cheese Filled Pumpkin Bread

It's Thanksgiving!!! This is one of my favorite holidays mainly because I get to cook AND eat a bunch of yummy dishes.

Another reason I love this holiday is getting together with friends and family. Sadly, all my family lives in California, which means I don't get to see them often. The good news is that we kind of have an orphan Thanksgiving. What I mean by that is my mom invites all her friends over who also do not have much family around to spend the holiday with. We have been doing this for years and I have spent many a Thanksgiving with these same people and they have become my Thanksgiving family!

But even better news, this year my cousin Carly and her husband Charlie are visiting for Thanksgiving and I couldn't be happier!

This year I am having two Thanksgivings! My roommates and I had a roomie Thanksgiving before we all left for the break. I baked a small ham, made my sweet potato casserole, and tried out this yummy bread I discovered from Averie Cooks!

I wanted to make something different at my roomie Thanksgiving other than a pumpkin pie. But, I knew it still needed to be pumpkin flavored. I have been wanting to try this recipe for awhile now and knew this would be the perfect time. I had no regrets. It turned out great and had a nice flavor.

Ingredients

Bread

1 large egg

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup sour cream

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp pumpkin oie soice

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt, optional and to taste

Cream Cheese Filling

1 large egg

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup granulated sugar

3 tbsp all-purpose flour

Directions

Oven: 350
Spray a 9x5-inch loaf pan with grease and flour the pan. Set aside.
Bread
In a large bowl, add the first ten ingredients, through ground nutmeg, and whisk to combine. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt if you choose too, and fold with spatula or stir gently with a spoon until just combined; don't over mix then set aside. Turn about two-thirds of the batter out into the prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula and pushing it into the corners and sides as necessary; set aside.
Cream Cheese Filling
In a large bowl, add all ingredients and whisk to combine. Alternatively, mix with a hand mixer. Evenly pour filling mixture over prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula and pushing it into the sides as necessary. Top the cream cheese filling with remaining pumpkin batter, smoothing the top very lightly with spatula as to not disturb cream cheese layer; smooth batter into corners and sides as necessary.
Bake for about 48 minutes or until the top is domed, golden, and the center is set. Use a toothpick to see if the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter. This part will be tricky because the cream cheese won't really get solid, so the toothpick test isn't the most accurate. Baking times will vary based on moisture content of pumpkin, cream cheese, climate, and oven variances. Bake until done; watch your bread, not the clock.

Allow bread to cool in pan for about 15 minutes before turning out on a wire rack to cool completely before slicking and serving.
Bread will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

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Oatmeal Pumpkin Creme Pie

I love fall. With Fall comes pumpkins. Pumpkin flavored anything. To start Fall off I had my first ever cup of Pumpkin Spiced Latte to see what all the hype was about. I was converted. That latte was so yummy, I do not care that I am basic now. 
I am obsessed with oatmeal creme pies so when  I came across this delightful recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction I knew it had to be made. What is even better is that it is pumpkin flavored! 

Ingredients

Cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

2tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 and 2/3 cups old fashioned rolled oats

1 cup all-purpose flour

Frosting

4 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature

2 tbs unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

1/4 cup pumpkin puree

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, 1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 - 2 and 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Directions

Oven: 325
Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the softened butter and sugars together on medium-high speed until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk the baking soda, cinnamon, oats, and flour. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, then mix together until just combined. Do not over mix.
Do not skip this step: Chill the dough for at least one hour (or up to 1 day) in the refrigerator. Cookies will be very flat if the dough is not cold.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Roll 2 teaspoons of dough into a ball and place onto prepared sheet. Bake for 9 minutes, let cool on cookie sheet for a minute or so and then transfer to a wire rack.
While the cookies are cooling, prepare the pumpkin frosting. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese, butter, pumpkin, and spices on medium speed until creamy. Add 2 - 2 and 1/2 cups of sifted confectioners sugar (depending how sweet you like it). If frosting is much too thin, add in the flour to thicken it. If too sweet, add salt to cut the sweetness. (I recommend chilling the frosting for half an hour or so.)
 Spread a generous amount of frosting on the underside of a cooled cookie and sandwich another cookie on top. Cookies stay fresh for up to 5 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

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