A drink you can eat

Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

Made: January 27, 2012

Ingredients
- Your favorite Devil's food or chocolate cake mix
- 1 cup whipped vanilla frosting
- 1/2 cup marshmallow creme
- 1/4 teaspoon unsweetened baking cocoa
- 6 miniature pretzel twists, broken in half

Directions
- Heat oven to 350F
- Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups
- In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil and egg with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally
- Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.
- Bake 17 to 22 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean
- Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan to cooling rack
- Cool completely, about 30 minutes
- In small bowl, mix frosting and marshmallow creme
- Spoon into small resealable food-storage plastic bag; seal bag
- Cut 3/8-inch tip off 1 corner of bag (Or spoon mixture onto cupcakes instead of piping)
- Pipe 3 small dollops of frosting mixture on top of each cupcake to look like melted marshmallows
- Sprinkle with cocoa
- Press pretzel half into side of each cupcake for cup handle
- Store loosely covered

Unfortunately, they don't look like they do in the "recipe picture" as my "marshmallows" melted all over my cupcake. I did a couple things differently (like always) I didn't add on the pretzel as my carrying case has little space in-between the cupcakes. And with my marshmallow everywhere, it was just a mess. :( I also used my Pampered chef decorating Easy Accent Decorator to pipe on the marshmallow. Love that thing! (The marshmallow is also white; excuse the lighting!)

Recipe used: Pillsbury

Stuffin' chicken

Chicken and stuffing casserole

Made: January 26, 2012

Ingredients
- 2 cups herb-seasoned stuffing mix, divided
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 4 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed, well drained
- 2 cups shredded or cubed cooked chicken or turkey
- 2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 4 large eggs

Directions
- Preheat oven to 400F
- Coat a shallow baking dish with cooking spray
- Mix 2 tablespoons stuffing with melted butter in a small bowl, set aside
- Combine remaining stuffing mix with vegetables and chicken in a large bowl
- Spread mixture in even layer prepared baking dish
- Beat broth and eggs until blended
- Pour over chicken and stuffing
- Sprinkle with reserved buttered crumbs
- Bake until bubbly, 25-30 minutes

I had a couple of concerns. It's a bit under-seasoned and gets a bit dry. Even though I added more than the recommended broth since I used more stuffing mix than just two cups worth. However, the taste overall was pretty good! So next time, I'll be making the adjustments. And putting foil over top as well; the top stuffing mix got a little on the crispy side as well.

Recipe used: Easy to bake, easy to make

Gołąbki's

Stuffed Cabbage rolls

Made: January 24, 2012

Ingredients
- 1 large head of cabbage
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1/2 cup uncooked rice
- 1 can (15oz) tomato sauce, divided
- 1/3 cup finely chopped onion
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Bring a large saucepan to a boil
- Cut 4 large cabbage leaves from a head of cabbage
- Add cabbage leaves to boiling water; reduce heat & simmer until leaves are softened
- Combine ground beef, rice, 1/2 cup tomato sauce, onion, garlic salt & cinnamon in a large bowl; mix well
- Place about 1/3 cup beef mixture on stem end of each cabbage leaf
- Fold sides of leaves over beef mixture and roll up
- Place cabbage rolls, seam side down, in an 8in baking dish
- Pour remaining tomato sauce over cabbage rolls
- Cover with foil
- Bake cabbage rolls until beef mixture is no longer pink, 50-60 minutes
- Spoon sauce over rolls when serving

I need to work on my rolling technique

Since I usually try to cook for my Granny (which everyone knows by now), this was without onions. But all-in-all it came out just like they did when I bought them at my Church's polish festival :) I didn't have tomato sauce, so I used Diced tomatoes in sauce and then tomato paste to top it off with. :) The hardest part was getting the leaves of cabbage off in one piece. :( And I need to work on how to roll things correctly. They always seem to come out weird, but as long as they're tasty!

Recipe used: Easy to bake, easy to make

Cheesy Crescents

Ham & cheese turnovers

Made: January 22, 2012

Ingredients:
- 1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
- 8 thin slices cooked ham (8 oz)
- 4 thin slices Cheddar cheese (4 oz), each cut into 4 strips

Directions:
- Heat oven to 350 F
- Separate dough into 8 triangles
- Place 1 piece of ham on each triangle; place 2 strips of cheese down center of ham
- Fold in edges of ham to match shape of dough triangle
- Roll up each crescent, ending at tip of triangle
- Place with tips down on un-greased cookie sheet
- Bake 15 to 19 minutes or until golden brown
- Immediately remove from cookie sheet; serve warm

I did mine slightly different as I loooooooooooove cheese. I used a whole piece instead of cutting them in half. The extra cheese made it so gooey with the ham. YUM!

(Recipe from: Pillsbury)

Crabby chips

Baked potato chips

Made: January 22, 2012

Ingredients:

- 4 medium baking potatoes
- 3-4 tablespoons olive oil or canola oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Creoloe or Cajun seasonings, or use your favorite spice mix

Directions:
- Heat oven to 400 F
- Peel potatoes, if desired, then slice into think slices
- Drizzle a little olive oil over the botom of a large, shallow baking pan - spread the oil to coat the bottom
- Dry potatoes and toss in a bowl with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
- Toss the potatoes with the seasoning, coating thoroughly.
- Spread potatoes evenly in pan
- Bake for 12 minutes
- Turn the potatoes and continue baking for another 10 minutes
- Repeat for desired crispy texture

My favorite spice mixture is Old Bay. :) They came out ok, not perfect. But practice makes perfect right? :)

(Recipe from: all recipes)

Potatoes and cream

Creamy Baked Potato Soup

Made: January 18, 2012

 Ingredients
- 3 bacon slices, diced
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 2 large baked potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 1 cup half and half
- 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Minced fresh parsley
- Croutons

Directions
- In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, cook bacon until crisp
- Drain, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings, set bacon aside
- Saute onion and garlic in drippings until tender
- Stir in flour, salt, basil, thyme & pepper, mixing well
- Gradually add broth, stirring well
- Bring mixture to a boil, boil and stir for 2 minutes
- Add potatoes, half and half & hot pepper sauce
- Cook until heated through but do not boil
- Serve in bowls with a sprinkling of bacon, cheese, parsley & croutons on top

With all the fixin's

I made a few adjustments. I added in more chicken broth and a few more potatoes. No garlic, onions or pepper sauce, but overall the broth had a great taste without them. I also used ranch flavored croutons which added nice texture and extra flavor. It was more of a potatoes and cream feeling, but it was still quite yummy and I plan on making this again :)

Pot Pie, Tuna style

Quick Tuna Skillet Pot Pie

Made: January 17, 2012

Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 1/2 cup cooked small shell pasta
- 1 can cream of celery soup
- 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
- 1 can (6 oz) can tuna, drained & flaked
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 teaspoon dillweed
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tube refrigerated country-style biscuits (10 count)

Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 F
- In a medium ovenproof skillet over medium heat, melt butter
- Add onion and saute for 5 minutes, stirring frequently
- Stir in cooked pasta, soup, peas, tuna, sour cream, dillweed & salt; mix well
- Cook 3 minutes or until heated through
- Use the back of a spoon to press mixture down in skillet to make an even layer
- Separate dough into 10 biscuits and place them over tuna mixture in skillet
- Bake for 15 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown and tuna mixture is bubbly

I had a couple of differences. I didn't want to accidentally put the wrong skillet in the oven, so I used my dutch oven instead. I also thought I had a can of Cream of Celery, but I did not. So I used Cream of Broccoli. Also, no onion as I was making this for my granny as well. And she loves anything tuna. But overall, it was quite yummy, just like Tuna Casserole with a biscuit on top :)

(Recipe from: Rock your Rolls)

Rolls turned French

French Toast Bake

Made: January 15, 2012

Ingredients

- 2 Tablespoons butter; melted
- 1 tube refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing
- 3 eggs
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- Powdered sugar
- Additional maple syrup, optional

Directions

- Preheat oven to 375 F
- Spread melted butter in an non-greased 8-in square baking dish
- Separate dough into 8 rolls; set icing aside
- Arrange roll pieces over butter in baking dish
- In a medium bowl, beat eggs, with cream, cinnamon and vanilla until well blended
- Gently pour egg mixture over roll pieces in dish
- Sprinkle pecans over top
- Drizzle 1/2 cup syrup over everything
- Bake for 16 to 24 minutes or until golden brown
- Cool for 15 minutes
- Transfer icing into a small microwave-safe bowl and heat in microwave on medium power for 7 to 12 seconds
- Drizzle icing over top and sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar
- Serve with warmed maple syrup, if desired

I didn't have any whipping cream, so I used milk instead. I feel like I should've used more milk as they were slightly dry. I baked them for 20 minutes and they were nice and golden. Overall, they were quite delish :)

(Recipe from: Rock your rolls)