Cookie Pizza Cake

I just want you to know. I love chocolate, especially when it is paired with peanut butter. I am a Reese's peanut butter cup girl. They are my very favorite! I have been making this lovely Cookie Pizza Cake for a few years now and I decided to share it with you today . I had a dream recently that I came home from a long day out of the house and this was waiting for me in my kitchen! Pretty sweet dream, even better dessert in real life!

Cookie Pizza Cake
1 package refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
1 package chocolate cake mix, plus ingredients needed to make cake
1 cup vanilla frosting
1/2 cup peanut butter
1-2 Tbsp milk
1 container chocolate frosting
Chocolate peanut butter cups, chopped

Preheat oven to 350°. Press cookie dough into greased 12 inch pizza pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely. Prepare cake mix. Fill greased 12 inch pizza pan 1/4-1/2 full with batter. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes on wire rack in pan. Remove and cool completely. Combine vanilla frosting and peanut butter in a small bowl.. Gradually stir in milk, 1 Tbsp. at a time until it is a spreadable consistency. Place cookie on serving platter. Spread with peanut butter frosting. Place cake on top of cookie. Trim to match the cookie. Frost top and side of cake with chocolate frosting. Garnish with chopped peanut butter cups.

California Turkey Sandwich

I was thinking about sandwiches earlier today. It is picnic season and I am trying to make a mental list of different things to make for picnics. I first had this tasty sandwich many years ago when my dear friend Beth made it for me. It is really yummy and different from the usual ham and cheese.

California Turkey Sandwich
1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and mashed
1/4 cup onion, chopped
2 tsp. lemon or lime juice
1/4 cup mayo
1 small garlic clove, minced
Salt to taste
1/2 cup sliced black olives
Sliced tomatoes, lettuce, onion
Sliced deli turkey
Slices of Pepper Jack cheese
Sub rolls

Mash avocado with onion, lemon juice, mayo, garlic and salt. Mix well. Spread on sub rolls. Top with olives, cheese, turkey, tomato, lettuce and onion

Refreshing Fruit Salad

One of the best things about spring/summer is the availability of  fresh fruit. It makes me happy! Here is a very simple way to make a fruit salad.

Fruit Salad

Please use what amounts you like of the fruits you and your family enjoy. I used: strawberries, mangoes, kiwis, blackberries, pineapple, mandarin oranges.

1 large orange, zested and juiced

2 limes, zested and juiced

Place fruit in large bowl, stir in zest from the orange and limes, and pour the orange and lime juice over the top. Gently stir the fruit until everything is coated with the juice. 

That is it. Simple and nothing hides the yummy fruit!

Egg "Muffins"

Do you ever stumble upon an idea that is just so simple and wonderful that you smack your yourself saying "Duh! Why have I never thought of that?" Well, I had one of those moments this past weekend as I was trying to decide what to bring into my bible study class at church. I found and pinned a great idea on Pinterest, but unfortunately, it didn't have the recipe attached, so I googled it and read many recipes and they all were different. I knew that I wanted my little egg muffins to be all egg, and no bread, so I just decided to wing it. Here is what I came up with. The picture is what started this whole recipe search as I forgot to take a picture of my egg muffins.

Egg "Muffins"
Cooking Spray
9 eggs
1/3 cup milk
Salt and Pepper
Mix ins- Cooked Sausage, diced veggies (bell pepper, onion, broccoli, spinach, whatever make you happy), cooked and crumbled bacon, ham, diced chicken......
Shredded cheese
Preheat oven to 350°. Liberally spray your muffin tin. Beat eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Place your mix in ingredients in the bottom of each muffin spot. Pour eggs over the mix in ingredients, filling them up 3/4 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center of a muffin comes out without egg on it. Cool on wire racks for 5-10 minutes. Run a knife around the edges and carefully lift each egg muffin out.

I made sausage and cheese and then also a "Denver" egg muffin, which has ham, bell pepper, onion and cheese. They were both amazing!

Spicy Sausage Pasta

I found this great recipe on Pinterest. I spent quite a bit of time clicking through Kevin & Amanda - the blog that posted the original recipe. I have found several recipes that I can't wait to try.  I love finding new sources for recipes. If the rest of the recipes are as tasty as this one, Kevin & Amanda is a blog worthy of  notice!

Spicy Sausage Pasta

1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb smoked sausage, cut into slices
1.5 cups diced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 (10 oz) can Ro-Tel tomatoes and green chilies, Mild
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 oz penne pasta
1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper, each
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1/3 cup thinly sliced scallions
Add olive oil to an oven-safe skillet over medium high heat until just smoking. Add sausage and onions and cook until lightly browned. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Add broth, tomatoes, cream, pasta, salt and pepper and stir. Bring to a boil, cover skillet, and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until pasta is tender, about 15 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and stir in 1/2 cup cheese. Top with remaining cheese and sprinkle with scallions. Broil until cheese is melted, spotty brown, and bubbly.

Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken

I have decided to make an effort to try a new recipe each week that I find on Pinterest. Otherwise, why bother spend any time pinning things that I do not make? This is my recipe this week. The original recipe can be found here at Chef-in-Training. This is a really good recipe. My whole family really enjoyed the sweet yet savory sauce that you make for the chicken. My only negative comment on this recipe is that it calls for a whole cup of honey. Due to the high cost of honey, this recipe will not be made as often as I would like. It is a really tasty dish, I am just a cheap skate!

Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken
2 lbs. chicken breasts (I used tenders)
Salt and Pepper
1 cup honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
4 Tbsp diced onion
4 Tbsp ketchup
2 Tbsp canola oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
4 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 6 Tbsp water
Sesame Seeds

Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper and place in a well sprayed crock pot. In a small bowl combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic and pepper flakes. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 3-4 hours or until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken form crock pot, leave sauce behind. Pour cornstarch mixture in crock pot, stir to combine. Replace lid and cook sauce on high for 15-20  minutes or until slightly thickened. Cut the chicken into chunks and return to crock pot and toss before serving. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve over rice.

Homemade Smoothies aka "Swoofies"

Recently I made this cute little guy his first smoothie. He really dug it and kept asking me for more "swoofies"....I really am sunk with this one, he is so cute! This is more of a method than a recipe, so feel free to substitute for your families tastes.

Homemade Smoothies

Yogurt- anywhere from 1/2 cup to 2 cups, depending upon how many servings you desire

Frozen fruit- any amount you desire

2-3 spoonfuls of sugar

Milk- about half of the quantity of the yogurt

You can also add a banana, but my boys aren't fans of the banana flavor

You can also add additional ice, especially if using fresh fruit.

Put all your ingredients in a blender and blend! Serve with a bendy straw!