Fruit Salsa

FRUIT SALSA with CINNAMON CHIPS

To be honest I didn't really follow the recipe as far as the amount of fruit that was put in. I just sort of put in what I had and what I thought sounded good. It just took a lot longer than I thought because I wanted the fruit to be chopped up really small so it really resembled salsa.

SALSA

4 kiwis, peeled and diced

1 fuji apple, cored, peeled and diced

1 pound of strawberries, diced

2 white peaches, cored, peeled and diced

1 mango, cored, peeled and diced

1 tsp white sugar

1 tsp brown sugar

3 TBSP simply fruit raspberry preserves

*Combine everything and mix it all up. Simple enough, right? I really liked the apples and peaches for the crunch.

CINNAMON CHIPS

10 (10 inch) flour tortillas

butter flavored cooking spray

1 C white sugar

2 TBSP cinnamon

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine cinnamon and sugar in a gallon sized freezer bag and mix it up. Spray both sides of each flour tortilla and cut into small triangles. Throw those in the bag and shake it up. Spread out onto ungreased cookie sheet until cookie sheet is full. Do not over lap chips. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool about 10 minutes. They will crisp up a little after they have cooled. Serve with chilled fruit salsa. SO YUMMY!!!!

Raspberry Crumb Bars

RASPBERRY CRUMB BARS

I had some leftover raspberry filling from my sister's wedding and thought that raspberry crumb bars would be a GREAT way to use up that filling... Plus, I already had all the other ingredients.

1 1/2 C flour

2 1/2 C oatmeal

1 1/2 C brown sugar, packed

1/2 C finely chopped pecans

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 C butter melted

2 C raspberry pie filling

1 tsp ground cinnamon

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix flour, oatmeal, pecans, and baking soda using pastry blender or fork. Stir in butter until well mixed. Reserve 2 C of the oat mixture for the topping. Firmly press remaining oat mixture in the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 pan. Bake 15-18 minutes or until crust begins to brown. Carefully spread filling over warm crust. Stir cinnamon into the reserved oat mixture and sprinkle over raspberry filling. Lightly press into filling. Bake 20-25 minutes or until top is deep golden brown. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack (about 1 hour) before cutting.

These were really good. I think I could have gotten away with using less butter. The crust was also pretty thick that a little extra filling wouldn't have been a bad idea either. These were really good though. Something I will definitely make again!

Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

 YELLOW CUPCAKES WITH RASPBERRY FILLING and VANILLA CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

I'm not going to write down the recipe for the cupcakes because, well, I just used a box of cake mix and made them according to the package directions. Oh, but I did add some raspberry filling that made them oh so good.

FROSTING
1/2 C butter, room temperature
8oz cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 C powdered sugar
1-4 TBSP heavy cream or whole milk

*Combine all ingredients in electric mixer. Cream together until well combined and fluffy. About 3 minutes. If you are piping it you don't want to add too much milk or it will be too runny.

RED VELVET CUPCAKES WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

*If you are making carrot cake cupcakes or red velvet I would recommend adding an additional 8oz of cream cheese and a little more powdered sugar if needed.

Batman Cake

 BATMAN CAKE

Malakai asked for this for his birthday for about 6 months. He was thrilled when I finally made it.

CAKE

1 (16.5oz) box Duncan Hines Devil's Food cake mix

1/3 C dry instant chocolate pudding and pie filling

1/4 C flour

1 C water

4 eggs

1/4 C mayonnaise

1/3 C vegetable oil

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 9 inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray with flour. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. Batter will be slightly lumpy. Divide evenly into the two prepared cake pans. Bake for 24-29 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Take out of pan and set face down on wire rack. Once completely cooled, wrap in saran wrap and freeze over night. This just makes it easier to cut and decorate. Next day cut off the top of cake to make a flat even surface.

FROSTING

1 C butter

1 C shortening

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp butter flavoring

1 tsp clear vanilla

1/2 tsp almond extract

1TBSP meringue powder

about 2 lbs powdered sugar

*Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Cream together on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add meringue powder and a little bit of the powdered sugar. Mix together and continue to add powdered sugar. I use almost a full 2 pound bag. Beat on medium high for 3-5 minutes.

I put my cake on a cardboard round. Cut the edges leaving about 1/4 inch of cardboard around the cake. Spread a small, thin amount of frosting on the cardboard to act like glue. Place one of the two cakes face down on the cardboard. Spread that layer with frosting and place the other cake on top, face down also. Spread frosting over entire cake. This time I used a store bought fondant and dyed it yellow to save time. Roll the fondant out and place on top of cake. Slowly smooth fondant over cake and cut off any excess fondant. For the Batman symbol I just printed off a symbol that I liked, placed it over a sugar sheet and cut out the design. the sugar sheet was really easy to use. I highly recommend it for decorating. My friend Amy had some leftover edible paper that we put around the cake. Honestly I wish I would have just used my sugar sheet because the edible paper was so hard to work with and I didn't like the look of it.

I thought the cake was perfect for what Malakai wanted and it wasn't too difficult to make!

Sticky Bun Bars

 STICKY BUN BARS

This is the first time I tried these and I really liked them. I made them for breakfast, but they were a treat that I would make again any time of day. I also messed up a couple things and it still turned out great.

1 box butter recipe yellow cake mix

1/3 C melted butter

1 TBSP milk

2 eggs

3/4 C packed brown sugar

1/3 C melted butter

3/4 C chopped pecans

1/3 C caramel topping

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl beat cake mix, 1/3 C butter, milk, and eggs with an electric mixer on medium speed for about 1 minute or until blended. Spread evenly in pan. Bake 8 minutes (I somehow didn't read this when I was making it and skipped this direction). Meanwhile in medium bowl, mix brown sugar, 1/3 C butter, pecans, caramel topping and cinnamon. Pour over partially baked crust.

Before going in the oven.

Bake about 23-25 minutes longer. It will still be jiggly in the center, but it will set up once cooled. Cool completely before cutting.

Out of the oven. Cooling.

I didn't bake the crust and I also forgot to add the cinnamon and I thought it was still really good. I might try it with cinnamon next time, but I thought it turned out great.

Indoor S'mores

INDOOR S'MORES

I love these. They don't taste much like s'mores to me, but they sure are tasty. It's hard to stop eating them!

8 C Golden Grahams cereal

5 C miniature marshmallows

1 1/2 C milk chocolate chips (I used semi sweet this time and it was still yummy)

1/4 C light corn syrup

5 TBSP butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 C miniature marshmallows

*Measure cereal in a large bowl. Butter a 9x13 baking dish. In a large microwavable bowl, microwave 5 C marshmallows, the chocolate chips, corn syrup, and butter uncovered for 2-3 minutes stirring after every minute until melted and smooth when stirred. Stir in vanilla. Pour over cereal and toss around until completely coated. Stir in 1 C marshmallows and press evenly into prepared pan. Let stand uncovered at least 1 hour or refrigerate if you prefer a firmer bar. I always put mine in the fridge for a bit because I can't wait to eat it! (I made these again using milk chocolate chips and it was much better and it did taste more like s'mores)

Mini Pizzas

MINI PIZZAS

I really just wanted to write this recipe down so I can remember how long to cook the pizzas. There's not much to it, but it was really fun for the kids!

Rhodes rolls (however many you want), thawed

Corn meal

Pizza sauce

Mozzarella cheese

Any toppings you want. I used

-Mini pepperonis

-Sausage bits

-Mushrooms

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread some corn meal on a small plate. Flatten out thawed rolls to small rounds. Press the bottom of the flattened rolls onto the corn meal then place on ungreased cookie sheet. Poke the tops of the mini pizzas with a fork to prevent bubbling. Bake for 10-12 minutes then let cool slightly.

Spread the sauce on the partially cooked dough. Sprinkle with cheese and the toppings of your choice. Bake an additional 8-10 minutes, or until edges are browned and cheese is melted.

Cream Cheese and Green Chile Chicken

CREAM CHEESE and GREEN CHILE CHICKEN

This is a recipe that I took from the Lion House cookbook and modified it a little. We like it more runny so we can eat it over rice. Honestly we made this a while ago so hopefully I remember everything I did differently. This is another one of my favorite dishes that has very few ingredients. It's easy to throw together last minute and my family loves it!

3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed

12 oz cream cheese, softened

1 (7oz) can diced green chilies

1/8-1/4 C milk

Salt and pepper to taste

Cornflake crumbs (optional)

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Place cubed chicken breast in prepared dish. In a medium bowl combine cream cheese, chilies, milk and a little salt and pepper. We like ours a little more runny, but it depends on how you like it. Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until chicken is done and cream cheese mixture is bubbling. As an option the last 5-10 minutes you can add some cornflake crumbs on top of the dish to give it a little crunch.

Creamy Corn

CREAMY CORN

Not to be confused with creamed corn, this tasty little side dish is so easy. I love corn by itself, but this is one way to get your kids to eat it if they don't like it. I usually use this as a side dish to my Cream Cheese and Green Chile Chicken (recipe coming soon). Believe it or not, this recipe actually came from a walmart cookbook and I just changed it a little.

 

1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese, softened

1/2 C milk

2 TBSP butter

2 (15.25oz) cans whole kernel corn, drained

salt and pepper to taste

 

*Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. cook over medium heat until smooth, stirring constantly.

 

Easy, huh?

Chocolate Chip Caramel Cake

CHOCOLATE CHIP CARAMEL CAKE

This is really moist and yummy. I liked it way better the day after it was made so if you are making it for something I recommend making it a day in advance. Also the second time I made it it turned out a lot better and fluffier.

1 box devil's food cake mix

1 1/3 C sour cream

1/2 C vegetable oil

3 eggs

2 C semisweet chocolate chips

1 C caramel topping

Icing (powdered sugar, milk, vanilla) optional

*Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix cake mix, sour cream, oil and eggs with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds then on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Hand mix in the chocolate chips and pour into prepared pan. Bake 35-43 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 30 minutes. Spray meat fork, or long tined fork, with cooking spray and poke warm cake all over. Pour caramel topping all over cake and cool completely. If desired mix up a little powdered sugar, milk and vanilla. Drizzle over the top of the cake. I did it more fro presentation because the cake itself doesn't need anything more.

The first time I made it, I think I took it out of the oven a little too early and the center fell. Then I didn't want to wait for it to cool all the way before I ate it so the caramel hadn't even soaked in yet. I am not a patient person. It was really good, but even better the next day.