Peanut Butter Cup Fudge

Once a month the girls in my family get together for Dessert Night. I love catching up with everyone and having that time with family. Eating treats all evening long isn't too bad either. 

I made these yummy treats the other night and we all loved them. So easy and so good!

Peanut Butter Cup Fudge

22 regular size peanut butter cups

3 cups milk chocolate chips

1 (14 oz) can Sweetened Condensed Milk

Line an 8x8 inch pan with foil and spray foil with cooking spray. Unwrap and place 16 of the peanut butter cups in the pan. In a saucepan, combing chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk.Cook over medium heat and stir until melted and combined well. Pour over peanut butter cups and spread around to even it out. Cut up the remaining peanut butter cups and press into the melted chocolate mixture. Let sit at room temperature until the fudge cools a little bit and then transfer to the fridge to harden and cool completely. 

Makes about 24 pieces-depending on how big or small you cut the pieces. 

Source: Six Sisters Stuff

Chocolate Pumpkin Cake

This is probably my favorite fall dessert recipe of all time! I could seriously eat this whole cake by myself, so it's a good thing that I only make it once a year. My amazing sister-in-law, Courtney gets all the credit for this one because she introduced me to this recipe and my life has never been the same:) Make this cake!!! You won't regret it!

Chocolate Pumpkin Cake

Cake:
1 1/2 cups flour
2/3 cup cocoa
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 egg yolk

Frosting:
6 oz cream cheese
1 1/2 cups powered sugar
2 1/4 tsp cocoa
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp orange food coloring

Glaze:
4 oz bittersweet chocolate
1 tbsp unsalted butter
3 tbsp corn syrup
1/2 cup heavy cream

For the cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottoms of two 8 inch pans with parchment or wax paper and lightly butter. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Stir the buttermilk, pumpkin, and vanilla together in a small bowl. Beat the butter and sugars together on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and yolk, one at a time. Reduce mixture to low and alternately beat in the flour and the buttermilk mixtures in thirds. Pour the batter into prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool completely before icing.

For the frosting: Beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed until fluffy. Add 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar cocoa, cinnamon and vanilla on low speed until well combined. In a separate bowl, beat heavy cream and 3/4 cup powdered sugar and orange food coloring on medium high speed until soft peaks form. Gently fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture until well combined. Spread 1 cup of frosting between the 2 cakes and use the rest to frost the outside. Chill 30 minutes before glazing.

For the glaze: Place bittersweet chocolate, butter and corn syrup in a medium heat proof bowl. Bring heavy cream to a boil in a small saucepan and pour over chocolate. Let sit for about 3 minutes. Using a whisk, gently stir until smooth. Let sit for 3-5 minutes., until glaze thickens slightly. Pour glaze onto the center of the frosted cake and smooth out over edges to allow it to drop over the sides.

Serves 1-12

Johnny Appleseed Activities

For the last 3 1/2 years, I have been doing what we call, "Mommy School" here at our house. Once my oldest hit preschool age, I started Mommy School and have continued on with it with each of my preschool age kids. I have many reasons for keeping my kids home for preschool, but the main reason is, I am selfish and want them home with me as long as possible.

When I plan my Mommy School schedule, I try to incorporate our monthly and weekly themes and activities to go along with that specific time of year or season. Usually around this time of year, we usually do a unit on Johnny Appleseed. Since I don't have any kids in preschool at the moment, we are taking some of our favorite activities we would usually do with Mommy School and continuing to make memories and build traditions. 

So, this last week was Johnny Appleseed week. We planned 3 different activities for 3 different days. I am often asked how I plan so many activities for my kids to do. It's all about getting organized and realizing that most activities with kids only last 20-30 minutes. If you have a plan and are prepared, these things take a small amount of your time, but the kids remember them for years to come.

 On Wednesday, we read some of our favorite Johnny Appleseed books and made some apple art. I just free handed a tree that the kids colored, and then they used pencil erasers to make apples on their trees.

 One thing we love about Johnny Appleseed is his awesome hat. My kids love to put my pots on their heads while we read about Johnny Appleseed. But this year, we made some hats of our own. I just took a piece of black poster board, cut it into 3 long pieces and measured those pieces around each head. Staple it together after you figure out how big you want your circle and then cut a pot handle out of your leftover pieces of poster board. Staple those on the inside of your circle. Easy as that! We were done in 5 minutes and I didn't have to wash any pots:)

 You can't have a Johnny Appleseed week without making something with apples. We made one of our favorite apple desserts to enjoy Friday evening. (Recipe below)

Apple Spice Cake

3 cups flour
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
3-4 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 tsp vanilla

Caramel Sauce:
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt

For the cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a bundt pan with cooking spray and set aside. Sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, combine oil, sugar and eggs. Mix on high speed until it becomes a lemon color. Gradually add the sifted dry ingredients until just incorporated. Add apples and nuts to batter. Mix to combine. Add vanilla and mix until incorporated.
Pour batter into prepared pan, and bake until toothpick comes out clean, 75-90 minutes. Remove from oven  and cool slightly on a wire rack. Invert cake onto wire rack and cool completely. Serve drizzled with caramel sauce.
For the sauce:
In a saucepan, combine all the caramel sauce ingredients, stirring until thickened to desired consistency.
Serves 10-12

Source: Martha Stewart

Frozen Brownies

My husband is back in school working on his MBA. We are almost to the half way point! He has weekend classes, so as of now, our schedule on the weekends has him leaving early Friday morning for work, going to class all afternoon and all day Saturday. He crashes in Salt Lake where he has school and comes home sometime Saturday evening. We miss him while he is gone and have tried to make the best of it. I have come to use my weekend time as my "alone" time. Once the kids are down, I catch up on a project or two or sometimes I just crawl into bed and watch 4 hours of "Say Yes To The Dress". And then there are some weekends when I need chocolate to survive! Last weekend was one of those weekends, so I decided to make myself a chocolate stash...something I try not to have because, lets be honest-my thunder thighs really don't need a stash! However, these little beauties are the perfect treat for a chocolate stash! Especially in my house because once I made them, my kids had like one a day until they were gone-totally eliminating my stash. Thunder thighs problem solved. But, the one or two I did eat hit the spot! 

We liked having these in the freezer when I was growing up so that when siblings (mainly teenage siblings) brought friends over there was always something to share with everyone. An oldie, but a goodie!

Frozen Brownies

Brownies:
1 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup cocoa
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
4 eggs


Frosting:
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 tbsp cocoa
2 tsp vanilla

In a mixing bowl, combine melted butter and cocoa. Stir in sugar and flour. Add eggs; mix well. Pour into greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
Meanwhile, for the frosting, beat together all the frosting ingredients in a mixing bowl until smooth. Cool brownies for 15 minutes before frosting. Cool completely. Cover with foil and freeze until firm. Serve frozen or thawed.
*I like to cut them up and freeze the squares in ziplock bags for easy access.

Serves about 3 dozen

Ooey-Gooey Butter Cake

Despite the 20 pounds of baby weight I have to lose, I made a cake this week. I just needed to bake something, and something good. I love this cake! It is gooey and rich. A perfect dessert to help me get back into the kitchen.

Ooey-Gooey Butter Cake

Crust: 
1 box yellow cake mix
1 large egg
1/2 cup butter, melted
Filling:
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 box (16oz) confectioners sugar
plus more for dusting

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, egg, and melted butter. Mix well until dry ingredients are moistened. Pat lightly into prepared pan, covering bottom and sides.
In another large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until well combined. Beat in melted butter until well blended. On low speed, gradually add in sugar. Beat until smooth.
Spread cream cheese mixture over crust in pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until sides are set and center is still jiggly. Remove from oven and cool completely. Sprinkle more confectioners sugar over cake and cut into squares.

Serves up to 20

Caramel Apple Cheesecake

I had some good little helpers in the kitchen last week. We made a yummy dessert that was easy and delicious! The kids were so proud of their final product.

Caramel Apple Cheesecake

Crust:

2 cups flour

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup butter, softened

Filing:

3 (8oz) cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup sugar, plus 2 tbsp divided

3 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Apples:

3 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Topping:

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup flour

1/2 cup oats

1/2 cup butter, softened

caramel topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a med bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter until mixture is crumbly. Press evenly into 9x13 baking pan, lined with foil. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

In a bowl, beat cream cheese with 3/4 cup sugar at med speed until smooth. Then add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition, and vanilla. Pour over warm crust.

In a small bowl, stir sliced apples, cinnamon, 2 tbsp sugar, and nutmeg. Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture.
In a small bowl, combine topping ingredients until crumbly and sprinkle evenly over apples. Bake 40-45 minutes, or until filling is set. Drizzle with caramel topping while warm or once cooled. Let cheesecake cool completely. Serve cold and enjoy!

source: thegirlwhoateeverything

Caramel Popcorn

I love this time of year! I especially love cooking and baking this time of year! I have had a long list of fall recipes to make for about 2 weeks and things have been so crazy lately, I have only made a couple. We love popcorn at our house and we really love caramel corn! Here is one of our favorite caramel corn treats.

Caramel Corn

2 bags microwave popcorn-salted (do your best to get all the seeds popped or separated)

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup corn syrup

1 tsp baking soda

Pop popcorn (removing as many seeds as you can) and place in large bowl. In a microwave safe bowl, combine butter, sugar, and corn syrup. Microwave for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir and microwave for another 1 1/2 minutes. Remove and add baking soda, stir. Pour over popcorn and toss or stir until popcorn is coated. Let cool a bit before serving.

Cookies and Cream Brownies

I took at least 20 photos of this delicious treat and didn't feel like anything I shot did them justice. You will just have to take my word for it! These are amazing!!

Cookies and Cream Brownies

Brownies:

4 oz unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

3/4 cup butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 cup flour

8 oreo cookies, crumbled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x9 inch baking pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. Microwave chocolate and butter in a large bowl at 30 second intervals until butter is melted. Whisk together until chocolate is melted. Stir in sugar. Add eggs, vanilla, and salt. Gradually add in flour and mix just until combined. Fold in crushed oreos.

Bake 28-32 minutes. Do not over bake! These taste totally different if they are over baked. Remove from oven and cool on cooling rack.

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 oz cream cheese, softened

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1-2 tbsp milk

5 oreos, crumbled

Beat butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Slowly add powdered sugar, mixing together until combined. Add vanilla and mix until combined. Add milk to desired consistency. Crush oreos and fold them into frosting. Frost cool brownies.

Makes 12 big brownies or several small brownies.....I would go for the smaller option because these are super rich!

source:girl who ate everything

Patriotic Berry Trifle

You have no idea how much I have missed food, blogging, working on my cookbook, and did I mention food? I am finally feeling so much better and our crazy month of family events came to an end. I am 15 weeks along now. Food and more importantly cooking, is enjoyable again (for which my family is grateful). To celebrate my lack of nausea, I made a patriotic dessert I have had on my "to try" list for a couple of weeks. It did not disappoint! Pretty to look at and even better to eat!

Patriotic Berry Trifle

1/4 cup plus 2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup water

1/4 tsp almond extract

1 pre-made angel food cake, cut into 1 inch slices

2 (8oz) pkg cream cheese, at room temp

2 cups heavy cream, at room temp

2 pints blueberries

2 pints strawberries, hulled and sliced

Heat 1/4 cup sugar, lemon juice, and water in a saucepan over med-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and stir in the almond extract.

Brush both sides of each slice of cake with syrup. Cut the slices into 1 inch cubes.

Beat the remaining 2/3 cup sugar and the cream cheese with a mixer on medium speed until smooth and light. Add the cream and beat on med-high speed until smooth and consistency of whipped cream.

Arrange half of the cake cubes in the bottom of a 13 cup trifle dish. Sprinkle evenly with a layer of blueberries. Dollop half of the cream mixture over the blueberries and gently spread. Top with a layer of strawberries. Layer the remaining cake on top of the strawberries, then sprinkle with more blueberries and top with remaining whipped cream mixture. Finish with the remaining strawberries and blueberries. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Serves 8-10

source: food network magazine

Cinco de Mayo!

Last night we had our annual Cinco de Mayo party. Yes, it was a couple days early. We had lots of good food and wonderful company.

Mock Fried Ice Cream

3 cups rice krispies

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 1/2 cups chopped nuts

1 1/2 cubes of butter

1 1/2 cups coconut

2 quarts vanilla ice cream, softened

Melt butter and brown sugar together in saucepan. Add additional ingredients (except ice cream) and mix well. Layer 1/2 of mixture in bottom of greased 9 inch cake pan or 8x8 baking dish. Sprinkle the rest of cereal mixture over ice cream and press firmly. Freeze for several hours or until firm. Serve with chocolate and caramel.

Chili Relleno Squares

3 cups shredded monterey jack cheese

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

2 cans (40z each) chopped green chilies

4 eggs

4 tbsp milk

2 tbsp flour

Place half the cheese in a greased 8 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with chilies and then remaining cheese. In a bowl, beat the eggs. Add the milk and flour; pour over cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until set. Cut into small squares and serve warm.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Sundaes

I have seen these floating around the web for a while and needed something fast for a FHE treat on Monday. They were a hit! The four of us shared 2... they are rich and filling! I won't mention the details of my new weight loss challenge I started on Sunday, cause I'm pretty sure these were not list of foods I should be eating. However, this week, I really don't care! Bring on the junk food!!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Sundaes

chocolate chip cookie dough

vanilla ice cream

chocolate sauce

caramel sauce

whipped cream

You can either buy store bought cookie dough or make your own. Fill greased ramekins about 1/2 way full of the cookie dough. Place ramekins on a baking sheet. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 13-15 minutes. You want the dough cooked, but still a bit gooey in the center. Let cool for about 5 minutes and then top with a scoop of ice cream, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce and whipped cream. All of this can be homemade, but I had it all in my fridge and freezer, so it was super easy!

Eat and enjoy!! I think this is a new family favorite!!

Rocky Road Treats

I didn't take many food pictures at our party the other night. I was so frantic to get everything done on time, some things just were forgotten. The pictures I did take weren't great, but they will have to do. These are some of my favorite treats! I love these because they take like 5 minutes to make and a small bite is very satisfying. Or on other days, the entire pan is satisfying!

Rocky Road Treats

1 cup peanut butter

1 bag chocolate chips

6 cups mini marshmallows

Melt peanut butter and chocolate chips in a saucepan. Add marshmallows and mix together just until incorporated. Pour into an 8x8 inch pan and refrigerate until cool. Cut into small squares and enjoy!

Peanut Butter Heaven

Monday was National Peanut Butter Lovers Day. So of course I had to make something with peanut butter for our treat that evening. I found this recipe the other day and as soon as I saw it I had to taste it! It is super rich, but delicious! You can serve the mousse by itself or serve it with a brownie or chocolate cupcake. Personally, the brownie is my favorite way to serve this. Throw a peanut butter cup on top and you have a great dessert to entertain with!

Peanut Butter Mousse

3 oz cream cheese, room temp

1 cup confectioners sugar

1/4 cup milk

3/4 cup peanut butter

2 cups (cold) heavy cream

1 tbsp vanilla

Using a mixer, mix cream and vanilla until soft peaks form. Put in fridge. Cream together cream cheese, sugar, milk and peanut butter. Fold in whipped cream. It may take a couple minutes, but it will come together. Refrigerate until cold. Serve as is or with another chocolate dessert.

YUMMY!!!

Double Apple Walnut Bread

Forgot to take a picture of this-oops! I finally got through the 7 bags of apples sitting in my garage!!

Double Apple Walnut Bread

1 cup smooth unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup sugar, plus 1 tbsp for sprinkling

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup plain yogurt

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1 cup peeled, cored and finely chopped apples

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Heat oven to 350. Combine the applesauce, sugar, eggs, oil, yogurt and vanilla in a large bowl. Whisk well to blend. In another large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Make a well in the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon and pour in the applesauce mixture. Stir just enough to combine; do not over mix. Fold in the apples and walnuts. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth top with spoon. Evenly sprinkle about 1 tbsp sugar over the top. Bake on center rack until toothpick comes out clean, 50-55 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven and put it on cooling rack about 15 minutes, then remove loaf from pan and place on rack to finish cooling.

Cafe Rio Pork and Refried Pinto Beans

So I had a bunch of people over for dinner this weekend and I wanted to try something new. These recipes sounded too good to pass up. They were crowd pleasers and I will most definitely be making them again!Cafe Rio Pork

4-5 lbs pork roast (boneless is best)

12 oz bottle of La Victoria Taco Sauce (red and mild)

20 oz bottle of regular Coca Cola

1 cup brown sugar

1 TBSP taco seasoning

Place pork in crock pot and fill half way with water. Cool on low for 10 hours. Drain water. Premix ingredients for the sauce and pour over roast. Cook on low for 4 hours. Shred pork and cook on low for another 2 hours. So yummy!!

Refried Pinto Beans

adapted from Rachael Ray

2 (15 oz) cans pinto beans, drained

1 (4 oz) can diced green chilies

dash of ground cumin and coriander

salt and pepper

In a skillet or saucepan, add 1 can of the beans and chilies and cook, mashing them up with the back of a spoon or with a potato masher. When one can has been smashed up, add the remaining can of beans and continue to cook until heated through. Season to taste. Serves 4

For dessert we enjoyed a nice summer treat-strawberries! I would recommend putting bananas in this recipe-but that is just me. My son LOVES this dessert! He ate most of it!

Vanilla Pudding Dessert

Taste of Home

2 3/4 cups cold milk

1 package (5.1 oz) instant vanilla pudding

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

1 carton (12 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed

4 cups crushed vanilla wafers

3 cups sliced fresh strawberries

2-3 cups sliced bananas

In a large bowl, whisk milk and pudding for 2 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes; fold in condensed milk. Set aside 1 TBSP whipped topping and 2 TBSP wafer crumbs. Also set aside 2-3 strawberries and bananas (slices). Fold remaining whipped topping into pudding mixture.
In a 3 qt serving bowl or trifle bowl, layer a third of the strawberries and bananas, wafer crumbs and pudding mixture. Repeat layers twice. Sprinkle with reserved wafer crumbs, whipped topping and fruit. Refrigerate until serving. Serves 12-14