Red Velvet Cookies and Creme Cupcakes.

After a tough week there are few things that fix my mood like baking. I also hate to let items just sit and sit in the pantry, so frequently I will work with what I already have. I had previously made a version of this recipe from Bakerella - at the recommendation of a coworker who gave me a recipe for a chocolate cake mix I liked better than the one used by Bakerella.

I decided on Thursday night to make a red velvet version for a few reasons: A. I like easy AND delicious to come as a package deal and B. I had a red velvet cake mix that had been sitting.

The experiment was well received by my belly and that of my coworkers (Happy Friday!) and I kept a cute box aside for my Saturday clients who I adore, and will be delivering those as well. So here's a quick how to:

Supplies:

- Red velvet cake mix
- Eggs
- Oil
- Water
- Double stuffed oreos
- Shortening
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Milk
- Cupcake liners
- Icing kit (I use disposable bags, a 1M tip, and coupler is what I used)

Go ahead and mix your red velvet cake mix as instructed.

Place cupcake liners in your trays, place 1 double stuffed Oreo in the bottom of each one. I use an ice cream scoop to put one scoop on top of each oreo. Then I baked them for 19 minutes on 350 degrees. (don't overfill - one scoop will be enough).

I food processed about 4 oreos for the icing and then followed these instructions from Bakerella (credit where it's due!):

Frosting:
1 cup shortening
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3-6 Tablespoons milk
2 or more teaspoons Oreo cookie crumbs

For the frosting:
Beat the shortening in a mixer until smooth.
Add vanilla and mix until combined.
Add the powdered sugar in three additions, scraping down the sides after each addition.
Add a Tablespoon of milk at a time and mix together until you achieve the consistency you like. Add the cookie crumbs and mix until completely combined. You can add more if you like, but I just wanted a light speckling to show off the white frosting.
Place frosting in a decorator bag with a 1M tip and swirl on top of each cupcake.

If you want to go oreo crazy, you can insert one in the icing on top of each of your cupcakes (I did this when I made the chocolate version, I did not when I made my red velvet version).

My argument for the red velvet way: it's cheaper, it uses less ingredients, red velvet is super moist, AND it made 24+ cupcakes where Bakerella's recipe made 12. I like to go big.

Here's a peak at how I did the first batch which were complete with an oreo on top, for those of you who might like that better:

Happy baking!

Love,

B

Recipe: Grilled Sweet Potato Fries.

If you all hunt the web for everything like I do - then you may have already tapped into the weath of food knowledge that can be located on about.com. I've previously shared my obsession with grilling everything from pineapple to burger to side dishes on my grown girl birthday present. But I HAD to share this recipe for homemade grilled sweet potato fries. They are delish, healthy, and easy to make.

I've recently been exploring their steak topper ideas as Auburn and I will be changing up our Christmas dinner tradition and cooking in, instead of going out this year. Auburn is an incredible cook and I want to be like her when I grow up. But I've offered to grill steaks for our dinner this year, so I'm trying to take a page from her book and do it up right. I'm leaning towards a topper that involved blue cheese. Mmm.

Anywho, hope you enjoy my new favorite recipe. Let me know if you give it a try!

Love,
B

Bic House Party & Another Giveaway!

After attending a sponsored party through House Party before, at my girl Auburn's house, I signed up myself and was selected to host a party for Bic. The party was to highlight their Soleil razors which each of the attendees got to take home and try, along with coupons for more, and scrapbooking supplies to document their favorite summer memories.

I love summertime, in fact, that's a huge part of why I moved to Florida, so I could pretend it's summer year round. Sadly, that doesn't come with the freedom to spend every single day at the pool (I keep hoping). So I made a few summery treats to go along with our party and I thought I'd share one very successful recipe here:

Lemon-raspberry mousse squares:


Ingredients:
- 48 Nilla wafers, divided
- 3/4 cup boiling water
- 1 pkg lemon jello
- 1 cup ice cubes
- pkg (8 0z) philly cream cheese (I used fat free)
- 1/4 of sugar
- tsp lemon zest
- 1 tub (8 oz) Cool Whip (again, I used fat free)
- 1/3 cup raspberry preserves
- 1-1 1/2 cups fresh fruit


Make it:


- Stand 16 Nilla wafers around edge of plastic wrap lined 8 inch square pan. Add boiling water to gelatin mix, stir 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Stir in ice until melted.
- Beat next 3 ingredients in large bowl with mixer until blended. Gradually beat in gelatin. Whisk in 2 cups Cool whip.
- Pour half the gelatin mixture into prepared pan; cover with 16 wafers. Microwave preserves on high 15 sec or until melted; brush onto wafers. Top with remaining gelatin mixturee and wafters.
- Refridgerate 4 hours or until firm. Invert onto a plate and top with remaining cool whip and fresh fruit (I did strawberries and raspberries).


It was SO good and the way we made it really low fat/calories. Just don't forget it has to sit 4 hours, I didn't notice that in time.


The party was a a great time. Good food, fun activities, lively fellowship...what more could you want?

Oh wait, I know what you could want... they said I could giveaway a set of party favors to one of you lovely ladies (or gents I guess, if you're interested). So, you know the deal - I like things simple. Comment below (you do have to be a follower) and you're entered to win. I will generate the number and announce the winner Monday, June 6th. Two chances to win in one week, what could be better?

Love,

B

Easy Enchiladas.

I've been tweeting the last few weeks with two of my favorite bloggers Heather and Lindsey about easy meals. I tweeted that I wanted to try these enchiladas last week and Heather actually beat me to making them. She loved them which made me feel even more excited about making them for friends on Sunday night.

They were quick but not as quick as I thought, so don't plan on making them when you have 20 minutes (boiling the chicken to pull takes 30 by itself) but they're worthwhile. They were a huge hit with the crowd I cooked for and I loved them myself. For my friends that have been trying many of the meals I've been posting, add this to your rotation - I think you'll be glad you did.

Thanks to all my friends who have been sharing in my cooking adventures with me lately.

Love,
B

Easy Dinner Ideas for This Week.

Loving the facebook feedback lately especially as it relates to easy meals. Turns out that what I write here isn't a waste of time since not only are people reading it but some of you are actually really making the meals - woot. Cooking is a rather new pnenom for me. Having someone to cook FOR hasn't hurt - but honestly, I'm enjoying packing my lunches now that they don't contain sandwiches or lean cuisines. And cooking on Sunday afternoons has become a relaxing addition to my weekend routine.

The Philly cooking cremes I've clearly become obsessed with were on sale last week at my grocery (Publix) so I actually tried 2 more of their recipes.

Sante Fe Chicken Enchilada Soup which was good but I have to say soup is just not really winning out for me over 'real food'. It's like salads v. meat and potatoes or something. I just don't get as excited about soup. But as far as soups go this one is delish AND paired with some chips and salsa, really not a bad little number.

I also made Baked Penne Philly style when Marta came over for dinner the other night. We both really enjoyed it. This was simple to make and VERY affordable (pasta usually is). I brought Lindsay some for lunch yesterday and her e-mail afterwards to me was:


That baked penne was the best penne pasta I've ever had in my whole life.

Seriously... delicious. And only 370 cals! BAM!

So if you're wanting to follow in my footsteps this week the baked penne is probably the way to go. Again, you could sub turkey for the beef or nix the meat altogether for my vegetarian friends. If you keep giving me positive feedback I may just keep giving you meal ideas. Hint hint.

Love,
B

Griddle Griddle Griddle.

I had so much fun flipping flapjacks on a griddle while we were visiting Thomas's family in South Carolina a few weeks ago that I just HAD to rush out and buy myself a griddle. I found a great family sized (you know, for my current family made up of me and my roomie) @ Big Lots for 21 bucks. It's a Black & Decker and I haven't used it yet but Lindsay and Zach borrowed it to cook for a band that was staying with L last week, and they approved it and were delighted by the warming tray. Oh I'm fancy, huh?

So Marta and I have been dreaming on pancakes (and grilled cheese sandwiches) ever since and low and behond I find a blogpost yesterday with these yummy looking red velvet pancakes courtesy of Emily of at The Secret to Success is Support.

I stole her amazing picture to show them off to you but you can find the full blog by Emily here. I think I may have to give these a try this weekend while Thomas's parents are in town for Easter weekend. We'd talked about a Saturday morning pancake party anyways and these look like life-changing. I promise to keep you all posted if I make them with all my thoughts. Until then I will be dreaming in red velvet...yum.

Love,
B

Yum.

A few have already tried out the slow cooker lasagna recipe I posted last week to help you all eat well on crazy weeks (like all of mine seem to be lately). It's funny how domestic I've been lately, I've never enjoyed cooking as much as I do lately but I've decided to roll with that for as long as it lasts. I tried 2 new recipes on Sunday afternoon - you know in the spare time between church, brunch, and surprise mission with the ladies and dinner @ Thomas's...Whew.

I made crock pot pulled pork for the first time which I loved because it only requires 3 ingredients and takes very little time... If you're interested in giving that a try you will need:

3 lbs of boneless pork ribs

1 18oz jar of bbq sauce (I did honey bbq, because that's what I like)

1 can of beef broth

Put the meat and broth in the crock pot on high for 4 hours (this took place while we were on secret mission for the boys). Then I came back and with Lindsay's help I pulled the pork with 2 forks. This is a little time consuming mind you...like 30 minutes with us both working on it. This may have been because it was our first time, or it may just take that long to pull 3 pounds of meat, I'm not sure. When you're done load that in a greased pyrex and mix in the bbq sauce to cover all the meat. Bake in the oven on 350 for 30 minutes and TA DA - pulled pork.

I combined it with garlic mashed potatoes and green beans for T and I's dinner last night (and leftovers for lunches this week).

Since all the Philly recipes I've tried so far have been delish (and reasonable in price to make) I decided to try another this week and made this. It is ah-mazing. I think each of you should throw one of these together at some point. Also, if you're not a red meat eater (I know a lot of my blog friends aren't ) I think you could totally make this with ground turkey instead. I did beef this week because A. I kind of like beef and B. it was cheaper this week because it was on sale @ Publix. Whoo hoo.

I've started making my meal plans for the weeks based on what's on sale or BOGO at the grocery store and I'm getting WAY more bang for my buck.

Hope these easy meals are helping you as much as they are me (you know, by keeping me full AND making me look like a totally amazing girlfriend).

I know many of my readers have crazy lives like mine but want to save money and stay healthier by not eating on the go all the time. So as long as you keep reporting that you're trying and enjoying the recipes, I'll keep posting them from time to time.

Love, B

By Popular Demand...

Many of you via facebook, twitter, e-mail, and blog comment wanted to know what recipes I was using for my slow cooker so I thought I'd pass on the one I did last night. It is DELISH! I found it on Prevention Magazine's website for healthy slow cooker meals on a budget. It comes out to less than $2 per serving.

I will say, I altered the recipe a bit. I made mine with ground turkey instead of beef and I forgot to buy the tomato sauce so I ended up using a can of vodka sauce but I actually think it was a great trade off. I didn't put as much cheese as the recipe called for, but even if you do - the recipe is really quite low calorie!

So without further ado you can find the recipe here. Happy slow cooking.

Love, B

Picture Challenge - Day Seven.

Guess who's learning to cook? This girl. Sporting an apron from my Mom, baking a Santa Fe Chicken Casserole, drinking a diet coke with fresh limes.

The casserole turned out delish and it was easy to make so I also thought I'd share it with you. You can find the recipe here.

I'm actually loving learning to cook lately. Trying new things. Bringing a certain someone food to try. : ] It's been a fun new adventure.

Love,

B

Yum.

• Ok we're going to talk about food today. My friend Auburn hosted a dinner party courtesy of Philadelphia's new cook creme on Tuesday night. I'd been seeing commercials so when I got her invite I was pumped to try it out. Not to mention Aubs is probably the best cook I know. I'm always excited to eat anything she makes, let's be honest. BUT on top of that my favorite part about products using bloggers to throw parties is free stuff (duh).
  
  Auburn made two delish recipes from the recipe booklets that Philadelphia gave each of us. I of course felt inspired and have decided I'm going to cook a few myself. But for now, I'm going to cook the one Auburn cooked for us because Publix, our best grocery store here in Tampa had almost all the ingredients I needed to cook it on BOGO (buy one, get one). Ta da! Thrifty cooking.
  
  I thought I'd share the recipes she made last night with you all here so that if you'd like a new cooking experiment this week you can try them as well. There are lots of coupons circulating for the cooking creme as well, so keep an eye on those deals if you're also trying to cook on a budget.
  
  First up, Life-altering Nachos or as Philly called them Santa fe Nachos
  
  Prep: 5 min Total: 13 min Makes: 8 Servings
  
  What You'll Need:
  - 1 can (15 oz) chili without beans
  - 1 tub (10 oz) Philadelphia Santa Fe Blend Cooking Creme
  - 4 Cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
  - 1 pkg (16 oz) tortilla chips
  - 1 can (15 ox) black beans, rinsed
  - 1 jar (8 oz) salsa
  
  Make It:
  Cook: chili in small saucepan on med heat 5 to 6 min. or until heated through, stirring frequently.
  
  Mix: cooking creme and shredded cheese in med microwave safe bowl. Microwave on HIGH 2 min or until cheese is completely melted, stirring every 30 sec.
  
  Spread: chips onto large platter; top with layers of beans, chili, salsa, and cheese mixture.
  
  Our small group dove into these bad boys. Seriously, make them. You will thank me.

The main course from last night which I also wanted to share with you (and that I will be making next week) is Southwest Pasta Skillet:

Prep: 10 min Total: 22 min Makes: 4 servings

What You Need:

• - 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
• - 1/2 cup chopped green peppers
• - 1 can (14.5 oz) no salt added diced tomatoes, drained
• - 1 pkg (10 oz) frozen corn
• - 1 tub Philadelphia Santa fe Blend cooking creme
• - 2 cups hot cooked rotini pasta
• - 1 cup Kraft shredded monterey jack cheese, divided

Make It:

Cook: and stir chicken and peppers in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat 6 to 7 min or until chicken is done. Add tomatoes, corn, and cooking creme; cook and sitr 3 min

Add: pasta and 1/2 cip shredded cheese; cook and stir 1 to 2 min or until cheese is melted

Top with remaining shredded cheese. Remove from heat. Cover; let stand until cheese is melted.

Honestly, I've only recently taken an interest in cooking. For years I figured why cook if you can eat out? Then I finally came to my senses about just how much money I was spending with this mentality as well as how unhealthy most of what you get at restaurants really is. So, then I realized that cooking can be fun, especially if you include other people.

So, I hope you all enjoy these new recipes. Happy cooking.

Love,

B