I wasn't planning on making these tonight, but I wanted something sweet. I really liked the Brownie Cookies I made a couple of weeks ago, so I wanted to remix it using the strawberry cake mix I had in the pantry. I didn't think the cookies would work, so I decided to try out my new mini-muffin pan. These little cakes were too cute! And not to mention, quite tasty! I could seriously eat about one thousand. You could use whatever frosting you have on hand. If you have a tub of frosting, whip it up in your mixer first. It really fluffs it up and gives it more of a homemade texture. I only had some heavy cream in the fridge, so I whipped it up with some sugar and topped each cake with a dollop of the whipped cream. It was a nice light balance to the heavier cake. A sweet treat for my Tuesday!
1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter, softened
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 box strawberry cake mix
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray or use paper liners in a mini-muffin pan. Set aside.
In a large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and cream cheese together until smooth, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg. Then beat in the vanilla. Add the cake mix and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
Drop tablespoon size dollops into the prepared muffin pan. Bake for 16-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. Cool. Top with desired frosting or eat plain!
Enjoy!
I love brownies. I love the box kind more than anything! If I make some of those on a Friday evening for a treat, I will eat the entire thing within 24 hours. I'm not kidding. I walk by and take a little bite here, take another bite there. And before I know it, I've eaten the entire pan. So, naturally these cookies looked awesome to me when I saw the recipe! It used nothing but the finest of ingredients: boxed cake mix, cream cheese and butter! What more could you ask for? Such a great snack. I can't wait to go eat another one...
1 8-oz. package of cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter, softened
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 box moist chocolate cake mix
confectioners' sugar, for dusting
In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in the egg. then beat in the vanilla extract. Beat in the cake mix. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm (you have to roll the batter into balls later).
Roll the chilled batter into tablespoon sized balls and roll them in confectioners sugar. This is a little messy. I used my small Pampered Chef scoop to make things easier. Place the cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 12-15 minutes (mine took a little longer...I think my oven needs to be calibrated!). Cool completely and sprinkle with more confectioners' sugar, if desired.
Enjoy!
(adapted from Honey and Butter)
This is an ode to those good 'ole childhood days of Hamburger Helper. Or maybe I should say good 'ole college days of Hamburger Helper, being that I never ate it until then! I will admit that I have a couple of boxes in the pantry for emergency dinner nights when I'm good with a bowl of cereal, but Clay must have meat. It does come in handy. I must say, though, that this tastes much butter and is not any more difficult to fix. All of the ingredients are sale staples and you should have most of everything in your pantry. I know I did. This is great for busy weeknight meals because its something the whole family can enjoy.
1 lb. ground beef or turkey
8-oz. short pasta (I used macaroni)
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 14-oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
1 packet taco seasoning (check out this recipe!)
3-oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
salt and pepper
shredded cheddar cheese (optional...I ran out)
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water. Set aside. *I forgot to reserve the pasta water, so I just substituted 1/2 cup chicken broth when it is needed later*
Meanwhile, in a large skillet or saute pan, cook the ground meat over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Drain off any excess fat. Add the chopped onion and garlic to the skillet and cook 5 minutes until the onion begins to soften. Mix in the diced tomatoes and taco seasoning and let simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Stir in the cooked pasta, cream cheese, sour cream and reserved pasta water (chicken broth in my case). Continue to stir until the cream cheese is melted and the sauce is well blended. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer over medium-low heat 3-5 minutes to reduce the sauce a bit. Remove from heat and top with shredded cheese if desired.
Enjoy!
(adapted from Annie's Eats)
Dawn Hoover, the Mobile Register's Spice of Life columnist, sent this to me last year. I've been holding onto it and waiting for the right time to make it. Easter sounded perfect. We had my Mom's Sweet Potato Casserole last year, so this year I wanted to change it up some. My Mom actually made this and brought it with her to my house. Oh. My. Gosh. This was probably my favorite thing we had for Easter Brunch. I kid you not. The swirls of cream cheese throughout the potatoes was scrumptious. The oat topping with the pecans and cranberries and the crunchy apples...Oh...I just can't say enough. You DEFINITELY have to try this. I hope you can make it as good as my Mom did! I will be requesting this from her more often. I even ate the leftovers cold right out of the fridge. Yeah, I guess I'm weird like that because it was awesome!
1 8-oz. package cream cheese
1 40-oz. can cut sweet potatoes (Mom used about 7 fresh sweet potatoes)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar, divided
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 Granny Smith apple, chopped
2/3 cup chopped cranberries (Mom used Craisins)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats (uncooked)
1/3 cup cold butter
1/4 cup chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat cream cheese, potatoes, 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon with mixer until well blended. Spoon into 1-1/2 quart casserole; top with apples and cranberries. Mix flour, oats and remaining sugar in medium bowl; cup in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs (I just use my fingers). Stir in nuts. Sprinkle over fruit layer in casserole. Bake 35-40 minutes or until heated through.
*You can make this the day before and make the topping before you bake it the next day.
Enjoy!
(adapted from Kraft Foods- Sent by Dawn Hoover)
I totally forgot to take a picture of these! I made them the day before and had to keep Clay and my stepson off of them Saturday night! The little size was just perfect for popping in your mouth. I did change it up by chopping up the pecans and adding them to the filling. They did not look as pretty as these, but I guess that's why these were photographed for a magazine and mine were not! My Mimi said she used to make these and they're called Pecan Tassies. Definitely a Southern thing. The thing that took the longest was shaping the shells in the mini muffin pan. If you had a tart shaper (like this one) it would make things a lot easier. I know what I'm ordering in my next Pampered Chef order! These are yummy and I'm thinking about putting them on the Holiday Baked Goods Gift List.
**Photo Courtesy of Taste of Home
3/4 cups butter, softened
6-oz. cream cheese, softened
2 cups all purpose flour
Filling:
1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon butter, melted
48 pecan halves
In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Gradually add flour, beating until mixture forms a ball. Cover and refrigerate 15 minutes. For filling, in a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, eggs and butter.
Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Press onto the bottoms and up the sides of greased miniature muffin cups (or use a tart shaper). Spoon filling into cups; top each with a pecan half (I chopped the pecans and added them to the filling).
Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown (Mine were in about 22 mintutes). Cool for 2-3 minutes before removing from pans to a wire rack. Store in an airtight container.
Enjoy!
(adapted from Taste of Home)
This cheesecake was exactly what I was hoping for: light and creamy. Cheesecake is not the first thing I would order off of a dessert menu. Most of the time it is too dense and heavy for me. This cheesecake was awesome. I think my father-in-law said, "out of this world!" This is on my go-to list of dessert recipes now. It was very easy to make. And because it chills in the fridge, its great to make ahead of time. The tricky part is knowing when its ready to come out of the oven. This was my first try at a cheesecake and I just left it in a few minutes extra to be on the safe side. There were cracks on the top, so I don't know if that's normal or if I could have done something different to prevent that. Either way, it was divine. This is a must-have recipe!
40 Nilla Wafers, crushed (about 1-1/2 cups)
3 tablespoons butter, melted
4 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened, divided
1 cup sugar, divided
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vanilla, divided
3 eggs
1 8-oz. tub cool whip, thawed
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Mix wafer crumbs and butter; press onto bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.
Beat 3 packages of cream cheese, 3/4 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon vanilla with mixer until well blended. Add eggs one at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. Pour over crust.
Bake 50-55 minutes or until center is almost set. I baked mine an additional 5-10 minutes. The cake still "jiggled" but the top was set when I touched it. Run knife around rim of pan to loosen cake (I don't know if you are supposed to do this right out of the oven, or after it cools slightly. It pulled some of the cake up when I did it). Cool completely in pan.
Beat remaining cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with mixer in large bowl until well blended. Whisk in cool whip; spread over cheesecake. Refrigerate 4 hours. Remove rim of pan before serving cheesecake. Garnish with fresh berries.
Enjoy!
(adapted from Kraft Foods)
Let's start this one out with a tip: ALWAYS read the recipe all the way through when planning your meals! I had intentions of making Cheesecake Pancakes. I read through the ingredients and knew I had everything to make them. Simple. I'll whip them up. Wrong! I was supposed to slice the cream cheese and allow it to sit in the freezer 8 HOURS or overnight! Well, that just wasn't going to happen this morning at 8:00! So, I started to look for a different cream cheese pancake recipe. I found one and combined the two together. The result was fantastic. I would rather have homemade pancakes over the frozen ones any day. The only thing frozen I will buy and actually enjoy is Eggo waffles. I guess it just brings back the feeling of childhood. These pancakes really aren't that much more difficult than whipping up some Bisquick. One of the original recipes called for self-rising flour (which I do not have) so I made my own and reflected it here in my adapted recipe. The maple syrup and strawberries added that perfect touch. I hope you enjoy these!
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg
1-3/4 cup milk
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 oz. cream cheese, cubed (small)
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine flour, salt, baking powder and sugar together in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture (or you could just use 2 cups self-rising flour and 2 tablespoons sugar).
Combine egg, milk, softened cream cheese, butter and vanilla, stirring well. Add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened. Add the small cubes of cream cheese and stir to mix in (you can slice the cream cheese and stick in the freezer while you're preparing the other ingredients so its easier to cube).
Pour 1/4 cup batter (or less) for each pancake onto a hot (over medium heat), lightly greased griddle pan. Cook pancakes until tops are covered with bubbles and edges appear cooked; turn and cook other side (second side cooks much quicker). Serve pancakes with maple syrup and strawberries.
*I have made extra batches of pancakes and frozen the leftovers. That's one way I'll eat frozen pancakes :)
Enjoy!
(adapted from Southern Living and Betty Crocker)
I just recently started cooking with Italian Sausage since I've picked it up during the sales at Publix and Winn Dixie. I really like the change it gives me in my regular dinner routine. I found this recipe in a Philadelphia Cream Cheese insert in one of my magazines. It is very simple and very delicious. Great for quick weeknight meals. The peppers give it a good fresh kick. You probably have most of these items in your stockpile. Its a great change on the noodles-pasta sauce dinner!
1 box Penne Noodles (I used Ronzoni Smart Taste)
1 lb. Italian Sausage
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce
8 oz. cream cheese (I used reduced-fat)
1/4 cup milk (add more as needed for desired consistency)
Cook pasta according to package directions.
Meanwhile, brown sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Break up large chunks with a wooden spoon. Drain off excess fat. Return to skillet and add peppers. Cook 5-10 minutes or until softened. Stir in spaghetti sauce and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Add cream cheese, cook another 5 minutes or until melted, stirring frequently.
Drain pasta and return to pot. Add sausage mixture, mixing thoroughly. Add enough milk to thin out the consistency (I didn't measure, so I'm not sure how much I added. I'm guessing between 1/4 and 1/2 cup. It will resemble an alfredo sauce). Top with Parmesan. Serve with a small salad.
Enjoy!
(adapted from Kraft)
I was really looking forward to tonight's dinner. I haven't cooked with chicken in a long time! I didn't realize how long it had been. What a nice way to bring it back! This was super easy and super yummy. You can use reduced fat cheeses and keep this pretty healthy. You can also control it by how much you stuff in each chicken breast. Serve with rice or roasted potatoes and some veggies. This is a great way to get the picky eaters in your house to eat broccoli too!
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 ounces reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1 cup fresh broccoli, steamed
1/4 cup shredded cheese
2 tablespoons bread crumbs
salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Trim fat from chicken breasts. Season with salt and pepper. Place breasts in a large zippy bag and pound slightly with a meat tenderizer. Cut a pocket in each chicken breasts, cutting into but not through.
Steam broccoli in a small saucepan for 3-4 minutes. Drain and return to pan. Add cream cheese, shredded cheese, bread crumbs and salt & pepper to taste. Divide stuffing between the chicken breasts (you may have extra, so don't overstuff). Secure with toothpicks.
In a large skillet, brown chicken over medium heat in olive oil, about 5 minutes on each side. Transfer skillet to the 400 degree oven to finish cooking through, about another 8-10 minutes (If you can't fit the chicken breasts in one skillet, cook in two batches and transfer to a baking dish in the oven). Serve with rice or roasted potatoes.
Enjoy!
(adapted from Parents Magazine)
When I came home from the hospital after having Ella, my first daughter, a friend of mine brought me a pound cake. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I had never had a "real" homemade pound cake. I ate it for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Obviously, losing the baby weight wasn't on my mind yet. I searched out recipes and found this one. I'm not sure if my friend used cream cheese, but this cake is just as good. The first time I made it I lost count of the sugar I was adding, and I ended up using an extra 1/2 cup. It was delicious! So, the second time I counted correctly and the cake wasn't as good. Go figure. More sugar equals better pound cake! This is my "edited" version that includes the extra 1/2 cup of sugar. The crust on the cake is great. Probably my favorite part. I promise you though, if you make this, plan to take some to somebody else. If this cake sits in your house, you WILL eat all of it!
3 sticks butter, softened
1 8-oz. block cream cheese, softened
3-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
6 eggs
3 cups cake flour
Cream butter, cream cheese and sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add salt and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time and beat after each addition. Add flour, dividing into four additions. Pour into a 10" round tube cake pan or bundt pan, buttered. Bake at 325 degrees for 1-1/2 hours or until done (I used my Pampered Chef Stone Bundt pan so I increased the temperature to 350 degrees). Let cool in the pan 10 minutes, then flip out onto a platter. Cool completely.
Enjoy!
(adapted from NorthPole.com)
Dawn Hoover, the columnist from Spice of Life, sent this recipe to me a couple of weeks ago. I knew it was definitely something that I wanted to make. Anything stuffed in a pasta shell has to be good! I think if I made this again, though, I would add more cream cheese. If your in the mood to try something different for dinner, give this one a try. I'll be warming up leftovers for lunch tomorrow!
Filling Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1 envelope taco seasoning
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup salsa
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
4-oz. cream cheese
1 box jumbo pasta shells (you'll only use about 16)
Additional Ingredients:
1 cup salsa
2 cups shredded cheese
1-1/2 cups crushed Tostitos (I omitted these)
1 cup sour cream (I ran out!)
In a large skillet, cook beef over medium-high heat until no longer pink; drain off any excess fat. Add taco seasoning, water, salsa and beans; cook over medium heat until thickened and most of the liquid has evaporated (about 10 minutes). Add the 4-oz. of cream cheese and stir until melted. Remove from heat.
Meanwhile, cook pasta shells according to package directions; drain. Toss with a little olive oil or butter to keep from sticking together.
Fill each pasta shell with a heaping tablespoon of meat mixture (I just used the one from my silverware drawer). You should be able to fill about 16. Spoon 1/2 cup salsa in the bottom of a 9-inch baking dish. Top with filled shells. Pour the other 1/2 cup salsa over the top, cover and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with cheeses. Bake uncovered 15 minutes longer or until heated through. Sprinkle with crushed chips. Serve with sour cream and extra salsa. Throw on some shredded lettuce or green onions if you feel like you need some green :) Serve with some rice, corn or beans.
Enjoy!
(adapted from Taste of Home- originally sent to me by Dawn Hoover)
This is such a great recipe! Especially with the Super Bowl around the corner. Not to mention, it puts those Tostitos Scoops to good use! I found this one several years ago and have made it a couple of times before. It only calls for a handful of ingredients, all of which I had on hand (except the chives, but I just left them out).You can add so much to these and really jazz them up. See below the recipe for some of my suggestions and how I changed it up tonight. One of the comments on the Rachael Ray site said they used biscuits shells like the Taco Puffs and filled them with this cheesy filling. What a great idea! I saved some of the filling and will do that on Saturday! I'll update this with the details.
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese (or whatever you have)
1 large egg
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels (I used canned)
48 Tostitos Scoops
chopped chives or cilantro, for garnish
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, pepper jack cheese, egg and corn (I used my stand mixer).
Arrnage the chips on a large rimmed baking sheet and place 1 teaspoon corn mixture in each. Bake until the filling sets. About 20 minutes.
Sprinkle the corn bites with the chives; serve warm.
**I sauteed some diced chicken breasts (2) with taco seasoning. I wasn't sure how I was going to work it, but I ended up topping the corn bites with a chunk of the seasoned cooked chicken after they came out the oven. YUM-O! You could really dress it up however you like. Add the chives, a pickled jalapeno, some sour cream, maybe a slice of an olive...its endless! Put this one on the Game-Day spread!!
Enjoy!
(adpated from Rachael Ray Magazine)
Dawn Hoover, the columnist from Spice of Life, sent this recipe to me. She makes this a lot around the holidays and for company. I know the holidays are almost over, but its a great recipe to keep on hand for an appetizer for a party. This is great served on crackers, or for those who are trying to low-carb it, use toothpicks and serve just the cheese. This comes together quickly and you fix it the night before.
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup white wine vinegar (I used regular white vinegar)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 good lemons)
1/2 16-oz. jar roasted red peppers (about 1/3 cup diced)
3 green onions minced (I omitted these)
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 8-oz. block sharp cheddar (I used white cheddar)
1 8-oz. block pepper jack
1 8-oz. block cream cheese, very chilled
Whisk first three ingredients together until mixture is blended- stir in diced peppers and next five ingredients. Set marinade aside. Cut block of cheddar in half lengthwise. Cut halves crosswise into 1/4" thick slices. Repeat procedure with the other 2 cheeses. (Put the cream cheese in the freezer for about 30 minutes before slicing. It makes it a little bit easier.) Arrange cheese slices alternately in a shallow serving dish, standing slices on edge. Pour marinade over cheeses. Cover and chill atleast 8 hours. Serve with crackers.
Enjoy!
(recipe from Dawn Hoover- originally from Southern Living)
If you have already started your diet, do not read this post. You will relapse, I promise! My sister-in-law, Shelley, made these Christmas Eve for breakfast. They are so good, and everything you need to make them has been on sale the last couple of weeks. It only uses half of a Jimmy Dean sausage roll, so save the other half to throw in some baked beans later. I may make that later this evening with our pork chops for dinner! Try this breakfast when you feel like being bad. Its to die for!
Makes 6 pockets-
1/2 of a 1-lb. Jimmy Dean sausage roll
1 8-oz. block cream cheese
1 tube crescent rolls (I used the Big & Buttery ones)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Brown the sausage in a skillet over medium heat. Drain on paper towels and wipe out the skillet. Return the sausage to the skillet (off of the heat) and add the cream cheese. Stir together until the cream cheese is melted.
Open the tube of crescent rolls and unroll onto a work surface. Press together the seams of the triangles leaving the three "scored" rectangles. Cut each rectangle into two squares, making 6 squares to work with. Press the squares out slightly creating more surface area. Put approximately 1/4 cup sausage cheese mixture in the center of each square. Pull corners up over the center and twist creating little pockets. Twist and press the seams to make sure they are all sealed.
Place on a baking sheet or baking stone and bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-22 minutes. Serve warm.
Enjoy!
(recipe from Shelley Grimes)
The first time I had this dip was several years ago at a baby shower one of my friends threw. I was hooked from the beginning. I have made it several times since then, and have even found a way to make it a little bit quicker. It is great with fruit, especially pineapple and strawberries. Both of those happen to be on sale this week at Publix. I also love it with Nilla Wafers, which are B1G1 this week at Winn Dixie. Even the Cool Whip and cream cheese are on sale! This is so yummy. I could just eat it with a spoon. Shhh, I won't tell you if I actually have or not!
1 8-oz. block cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 8-oz. tub Cool Whip
Pinapple juice (a couple of tablespoons)
Fruit to serve with (pineapple, strawberries, grapes, melon, etc.)
Nilla Wafers (optional)
Soften cream cheese and then whip with the powdered sugar. Combine with the Cool Whip and add just enough pineapple juice to get the desired consistency. (I just used the juice in the tub with the fresh cored pineapple). Chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Serve with fruit and Nilla Wafers.
Enjoy!
(adpated from Paula Deen on FoodNetwork.com)
This recipe started out years ago as a blueberry dessert. Over the years, my Aunt Tammy and my Mimi have transformed it into a delicious cranberry dish. We serve it on the plate with our Thanksgiving turkey, but it definitely could be used as a dessert too. I love the texture of the cranberries, pineapple and pecans in the jello. This would also be great around Christmas. The red is so festive!
I have used an (*) to mark the sale items at Publix. These will run through tomorrow, Nov. 25th.
First Layer:
2- 3 oz. packages cranberry jello
2 cups boiling water
1 can whole cranberry sauce *
1- 8 1/2 oz. can crushed pineapple * (20 oz. can on sale)
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Dissolve Jello in boiling water, add cranberry sauce, pecans and pineapple, including the juice. Pour into a 2 quart, flat serving dish. Cover and chill until firm.
Topping:
1- 8 oz. package cream cheese *
1/2 cup sugar *
1/2 cup sour cream *
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Combine cream cheese, sugar, sour cream, and vanilla. Beat with a mixer until smooth (about 2 minutes). Spread over congealed layer, then sprinkle with chopped pecans.
Happy Holidays!
