Shells Green with Envy

Chicken and Spinach Stuffed Shells

Made: May 13, 2013

Ingredients
- 1 (12-ounce) box uncooked jumbo pasta shells
- 2 cups chopped cooked chicken
- 2 cups fresh chopped spinach
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (15oz) container ricotta cheese
- 1 (8oz) packages cream cheese, softened
- 1 (5oz) package shredded Parmesan cheese (about 1 2/3 cups)
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1 (26oz) jar prepared spaghetti sauce

Instructions
- Cook shells according to package directions
- Be careful not to overcook them or they will tear easily when trying to fill them
- Drain and set shells out individually on a cutting board or baking sheet so that they don’t stick together
- Preheat oven to 350 F
- Lightly grease two 9x13 baking dishes
- In a large bowl, combine chicken and all the rest of the ingredients except mozzarella and spaghetti sauce
- Stir in 1 cup mozzarella
- Spoon into shells
- Spread half of spaghetti sauce into prepared baking dishes
- Arrange shells over sauce; top with remaining sauce
- Cover tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil
- Bake, covered, for 40 minutes
- Uncover, sprinkle with remaining 1 cup mozzarella
- Bake for 5 to 10 more minutes

I had a lot of filling leftover, but I only made 14 shells since we're a small family of 4. I used a Garlic and Onion pasta sauce to go with this and topped it with some shredded cheese. These shells seemed a lot smaller than others I've seen, but they were perfect for us!

(Recipe used: Paula Deen via Facebook)

Swirly Cheesecake

Cappuccino Chocolate-Swirl Cheesecake Bars

Made: May 9, 2013

Ingredients
- 24 oreo Cookies, finely crushed (about 2 cups)
- 3 Tbsp butter, melted
- 1 Tbsp Instant Coffee
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup boiling water
- 4 packages (8 oz each) Cream Cheese, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup Sour Cream
- 4 eggs
- 2 oz. Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted, cooled

Directions
- Heat oven to 325 F
- Line 13x9-inch pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides
- Mix cookie crumbs and butter; press onto bottom of prepared pan
- Add coffee and cinnamon to boiling water; stir until coffee granules are dissolved
- Cool slightly
- Beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with mixer until well blended
- Add coffee and sour cream; mix well
- Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing after each just until blended
- Remove 1 cup batter; pour remaining batter over crust
- Stir chocolate into reserved batter.
- Drop by tablespoonfuls over batter in pan; swirl gently with knife
- Bake 40 minutes or until center is almost set, cool
- Refrigerate 4 hours

A lot of prep work, melting chocolate, boiling water for coffee, then of course the normal for a cheesecake (cream cheese and crust). I probably should have added more coffee, but I'll have to adjust for a later recipe.

(Recipe used: Kraftrecipes.com)

Green Brownies

St. Patty’s Day Brownies

Made: March 15, 2013

Ingredients
- 1 box Betty Crocker® fudge brownie mix (plus eggs, water and oil listed on the package, prepared according to box directions) - or your favorite brownie mix
- 1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp vanilla
- green food coloring

Direction
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray
- Pour prepared brownie batter into the prepared 9 x 13 inch dish
- In a bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar together until well blended
- Beat in the egg, flour, vanilla, and food coloring until well blended and smooth
- Drop cream cheese mixture by tablespoonfuls evenly on top of batter
- With knife, cut through mixture a few times to marble
- Bake as directed on brownie mix box or until toothpick inserted in center comes out almost clean
- Cool completely, about 1 hour and cut into squares
- Store in refrigerator

I wanted to do something else for St Patrick's day this year, but I think the cream cheese mixture was too much for these brownies. I probably would only use 1 tsp of vanilla vs a tbsp and I would omit the flour completely. They still taste scrumptious, but there is just something off about them. I used 5 drops of food coloring for this

(Recipe used: Real Mom Kitchen)

Chocolate + cream

Black Bottom Cupcakes (full size)

Originally made date; unknown - Recently made: January 5, 2013

Ingredients
Chocolate batter
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream cheese filling
- 1 8oz package cream cheese, softened
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 F
- Line two 12 cup muffin pans with paper liners
- Sift together the flour, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt
- Set aside
- In a large bowl, whisk together 1 cup sugar, oil and water until blended
- Stir in the vinegar and vanilla
- Beat in the flour mixture until incorporated
- Set aside
- In a medium bowl, beat together the cream cheese, egg, 1/3 cup sugar and salt
- Stir in the chocolate chips
- Fill muffin cups 1/3 full with chocolate batter, then top with a heaping tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture
- Bake in the preheated oven until the tops spring back when lightly pressed, 20 to 25 minutes

These are requested quite often :) I didn't realize I never posted the recipe before today ...

(Recipe used: Allrecipes.com)

Cheesy brownies

Philly Brownie Cheesecake

Made: October 18, 2012

Ingredients
- 1 package brownie mix (plus whatever you need for this mix)
- 4 packages (8oz each) cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 3 eggs
- 2 squares semi-sweet chocolate

Directions
- Heat oven to 325 F
- Prepare brownie mix as directed on the package
- Pour into greased 13x9in pan
- Bake 25 minutes or until top is shiny and center is almost set
- Meanwhile, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl with mixer until well blended
-  Add sour cream, mix well
- Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low-speed after each just until blended
- Gently pour over brownie layer in pan
- Bake 40 minutes or until center is almost set
- Run knife around rim of pan to loosen sides, cool
- Refrigerate 4 hours
- Melt chocolate squares as directed on package, drizzle over cheesecake
- Refrigerate 15 minutes, or until chocolate is firm

I bought Reynold's disposable "Bake and Take" cake pans since Mom needed these for work the next day. I think they were longer than the size needed, so one batch of brownie per pan and then the cream cheese mixture was enough for both pans. I wouldn't have time to have the cake set overnight and then chocolate drizzle (which I need to practice on :x) so I let the cakes cool for 20 minutes and then drizzled the chocolate overtop before sticking them both in the fridge overnight. I didn't get to taste the finished product, but the tastings inbetween were quite yummy :)

(Recipe used: Kraft Foods - Showstopping Desserts)

Cupcakes turned to cake

Black Bottom Cake

Made: June 20, 2012

Ingredients

Cake:

- 1 1/2 cup flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup water
- 1/3 cup oil
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla

Filling:

- 1 package (8oz) cream cheese
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions

- Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda & salt
- Add water, oil, vinegar & vanilla; mix
- Pour into a 9x13 greased and floured pan
- Combine the cream cheese, sugar, egg & salt until blended
- Stir in chocolate chips
- Drop by teaspoonfuls onto the cake batter
- Bake 30 minutes at 350 F

I had a couple of issues with this cake, unfortunately. The middle wasn't done after 30 minutes. So I kept on checking on it and left it in 10 minutes longer. I wish I could've had it cook even longer as the middle still wasn't done all the way but the edges were going to burn. So I'll have to try and perfect this cake; either less filling in the middle or a different cooking method. So we'll see. But it still had a decent taste and the middle tasted like a gooey brownie. Hopefully next time will be a better turn out.

Chocolate Cheese

Chocolate Chip Cheese Bars

Made: June 6, 2012

Ingredients
- 1 tube (18oz) refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough (or favorite cookie dough recipe)
- 1 package (8oz) cream cheese; softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg

Directions
- Cute cookie dough in half
- For crust, press half of the dough into the bottom of a greased 8-in square baking pan
- In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and egg until smooth
- Spread over crust
- Crumble remaining dough over top
- Bake at 350 F for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean
- Cook on a wire rack
- Refrigerate leftovers

For Ms Marge's birthday, I tried something new. It came out smelling delish, I can't wait to try it later!

Green Velvet Cake

Luck o' the Irish

Made March 18, 2011

Basically, same recipe as the Red Velvet, but with green food coloring. :) It didn't get as green as I would've liked after the baking process, but it was so bright in the mix, I didn't think it would affect it! :( But it still tasted delish! :)

Red Velvet Recipe

Happy Valentines Day!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Made: February 14, 2011

Ingredients

Cupcakes:

- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
- 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons red food coloring
- 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting:

- 1 pound cream cheese, softened
- 2 sticks butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
- Chopped pecans and fresh raspberries or strawberries, for garnish

Instructions

Cupcakes:

- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder.
- In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla.
- Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

- Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled.
- Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through.
- Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

- In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth.
- Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated.
- Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.
- Garnish with chopped pecans and a fresh raspberry or strawberry.

For the first time ever making them, they were a success! :) Everyone enjoyed them. Which makes me happy. With the frosting, I think I put in too much powdered sugar was it was very sweet; 4 cups is a lot. (Almost an entire box!) I have so much left over. I wanted something pink and easy for Valentines Day :D

(Recipe used: Food Network)