Oreo Truffles

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened1 pkg.  (1 lb. 2 oz.) Oreos2 pkg. (8 squares each) Baker's Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted

1. Set aside 5 Oreos and throw the rest in a food processor until they are finely crumbled2. Thorougly mix cookie crumbs with cream cheese.3. Form crumb-and-cream-cheese mixture into balls, approximately 1-inch across each (but don't worry too much about being exact here. They will come out delicious no matter the size!) and place onto a cookie sheet that has previously been lined with wax paper.4. For best results, pop the formed mixture into the fridge for at least 15 minutes to chill while you complete the next step. If you really don't have the time, the truffles will still taste delicious (so don't worry!), but they will be more difficult to handle and some of the coating with mix with the filling.5. Melt the chocolate. There are many ways to do this. I don't have a double boiler, so I just throw my chocolate into a saucepan and heat it on low, stirring frequently, until it is completely melted.6. Remove pot from heat.7. Coat previously formed balls with chocolate and return to the lined cookie sheet.8. Throw the remaining 5 cookies into the food processor.9. Sprinkle some of those crumbs on top of the (still wet) truffles.10. Refrigerate for one hour.You are done! You are now free to package, freeze, and eat. (Of course, you were free to eat during the entire process.)Variation: swap out regular Oreos for Golden Oreos (semi-sweet chocolate for white chocolate, if you like white chocolate). You will end up with a cheesecake-like truffle.

I used my extra dipping chocolate to make chocolate dipped strawberries and raspberries!

Peaches and Cream Muffins

Muffins:

2 cups canned peaches, drained (save juice) 

4 cups flour 

2 cups sugar 

2 teaspoons baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

3 eggs 

3/4 cup oil 

2 cups milk 

Filling:

8 ounces cream cheese 

3/4 cup sugar 

3 tablespoon peach juice 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:

1/4 cup sugar 

Remaining Peach Juice

Preheat oven to 350 F

Dice the drained peaches to about the size of peas; set aside.In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In separate bowl combine eggs and oil; then whisk in the milk. Combine egg and flour mixtures; then fold in diced peaches.

For filling, beat cream cheese, sugar, peach juice and almond extract. Fill greased muffin tins half full of batter; drop 1 teaspoon of the filling into each muffin cup of the batter and top with 1 1/2 tablespoons more batter.

For topping, mix cinnamon and sugar; sprinkle over muffins. Bake for 20 minutes.

Cheesy Taco Pasta

Ingredients:
8 oz wheat pasta (I used Barilla medium shells)
1 lb 95% lean ground beef
1 oz packet reduced sodium taco seasoning
1 ½ c chunky salsa
½ c water
¼ c fat free sour cream
¾ c shredded 2 % reduced fat cheddar cheese
¾ c shredded sharp cheddar cheese (I used extra sharp)
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
1.    Cook pasta according to package instructions. 
2.    While pasta is cooking, place ground beef in a large sauté pan and cook over medium-high heat, breaking up the beef as it cooks. When the beef is cooked, drain any grease from pan. Add the taco seasoning, salsa and water and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes or until pasta is done cooking.
3.    Once pasta is done, drain pasta and add it to the beef mixture. Add the sour cream, cheese, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Cheese will melt when thoroughly mixed. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Berry Yogurt Cake

For the Cake:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 Tb. lemon juice, divided
Zest of 1 lemon
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, divided
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
8 oz. plain or vanilla, Greek yogurt
1/3 cup buttermilk or milk
1 tsp vanilla exract
12 oz. fresh strawberries (or other berries), chopped

For the Glaze:
2 cup powdered sugar
2 tb. lemon juice
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tb. melted butter (I sugget melting it in a saucepan)

Preheat oven to 325 F. Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan (10-15 cup pan.) Sift together the 2 ¼ cups of flour, baking soda and salt. Mix in the lemon zest and set aside.

With an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in 1 Tb. lemon juice. Alternate beating in the flour mixture and the yogurt, mixing just until incorporated. Add the buttermilk and the vanilla, and mix until combined.

Toss the strawberries with the remaining ¼ cup of flour. Gently mix them into the batter.

Pour the batter into the Bundt pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Allow to cool at least 20 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. Once cooled whisk together the remaining 2 Tb. of lemon juice, powdered sugar, vanilla, and butter. Drizzle over the top of the cake.

Vegan Tomato Basil Pasta

 1 Large, ripe tomato (2 cups roughly chopped, 1 1/2 cups blended)

1/2 Cup Raw Cashews
1 Tbs Tomato Paste
1/4 Cup Water

2 Tbs Olive Oil
2-4 Cloves Garlic, minced, optional
6 Ounces (ish) Whole Wheat Spaghetti
1 tsp Salt (edit: upped from 3/4!)
2-3 Tbs Wine or Water, optional
1-2 tsp Freshly Cracked, Coarse Black Pepper
1 Large Handful Fresh Basil Leaves, chopped

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil.

Core the tomato, then roughly chop it. Add it to your blender, seeds, skin and all. Add cashews, tomato paste, and water. Blend until very smooth.

Add olive oil to a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute until golden, being careful not to burn. Once water is boiling, add pasta. Pour sauce from the blender into the saute pan and bring to a simmer. Add salt and let cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

If desired add wine/water to thin out the sauce. Taste and season more if necessary. Let simmer until pasta is finished cooking. Once pasta is cooked, drain. Add pasta to the saute pan with black pepper and freshly chopped basil leaves. Toss to coat. Serve immediately, garnishing with more pepper and basil.

Waffle Ice Cream Sandwich

If you need directions, I have no words for you...

Take 2 waffles. Toast 2 waffles. Put ice cream in the middle of 2 waffles.

Make sure you fully toast waffle otherwise you'll have a soggy waffle. No one likes soggy waffles...

Basil and Mozzarella Breakfast Croissant

Super easy and pretty quick for a good breakfast in the morning.

1 tube of pillsbury crescent dough
3 eggs
Milk
Mozzarella cheese (grated)
Ground black pepper
Shredded/chopped basil
Salt to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375 F
2. Whisk together milk and eggs (to make scrambled eggs. I eyeballed this entire recipe) and mix in ground black pepper.
3. Scramble eggs in a pan and mix in shredded cheese (I eyeballed this so I can't tell you how much I added. Maybe a 1/4 cup. But add as much as you like.
4. Mix in basil after the heat has ben turned off and eggs are done.
5. Lay out crescent roll triangles so that all the triangle ends meet at one point.
6. Spread eggs evenly among the middle of the dough. (Add more cheese if you wish. I also added salt but that could be skipped)
7. Fold dough over eggs to meet the dough on the other side so that the eggs are now completely wrapped inside the dough.
8. Bake 10-15 minutes and enjoy! (Sorry, my instructions for this recipe weren't great.)

Update 5/6: Other combinations work really well too! Today I scrambled the eggs with feta cheese, mozzarella cheese, turkey bacon, and black beans.

Cheesy Sausage Muffins

3/4 cup flour 
3/4 tsp baking powder 
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 cup whole milk 
1 egg, lightly beaten 
4 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 1 cup) 
2 oz mini turkey pepperoni, (about 1/2 cup) (I'm not actually sure how much I used)
1lb spicy chicken sausage
1/2 cup pizza sauce

Pre-heat the oven to 375°. Grease a 2 muffin pans (I managed to make 18 muffins). In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, garlic powder and baking powder; whisk in the milk and egg. Stir in the mozzarella, sausage and pepperoni; let stand for 10 minutes.

Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes.

Raspberry Pretzel Jello

Ingredients

• 6 oz package Raspberry Jell-O
• 2 cups boiling water
• 4 cups pretzels
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 stick butter
• 1 (8oz) package cream cheese – softened
• 1 (8oz) package Cool Whip – thawed
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 bag frozen raspberries – thawed in refrigerator

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350°F.

1. Combine 6 Oz packet of Jell-O with 2 cups of boiling water add 1 cup cold water and set aside to cool to room temperature.
2. Crush 2 cups of pretzels in a ziploc bag, using a rolling pin.
3. Melt 2 stick of  butter than add 1/2 cup sugar in saucepan. Add pretzels and mix together.
4. Lightly press pretzel mix into a 13×9 -inch pyrex dish and bake for 10 minutes at 350°F, then cool to room temperature.
5. While pretzel mix is cooling down, beat 8 oz of cream cheese and 1 cup sugar on medium/low speed until well-combined.
6. Next, stir in Cool Whip using a spatula and mix until well combined.
7. Spread mixture over cooled pretzels and go all the way to the edges of the dish to create a seal. You don’t want the jello to leak into the pretzels. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
8. Place  raspberries evenly on top of the cream filling.
9. Pour Jell-O over raspberries and refrigerate until jello is set.

Oreo Brownies

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup butter softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 1/3 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 pkg. Double Stuffed Oreos
• 8 oz. cream cheese softened, add more as needed
• 10 oz. Dipping Chocolate I used Ghiradellis Milk Chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs and blend well. Add vanilla, salt, cocoa and flour. Don’t overbeat. Pour into a greased 9X13 pan. Bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool completely.
2. While brownies are cooling, make Oreo truffle layer. Crush Oreos finely in a food processor or by putting them in a ziplock bag and smashing them until finely ground with a rolling pin. When Oreos are finely crushed, using hands (or a spoon, I just think hands are faster), mash softened cream cheese and crushed Oreos until well combined. Start with 4 oz and keep adding until desired consistency is reached. When Brownies have cooled completely, place layer of Oreo truffle on top.
3. Melt dipping chocolate (you can use chocolate chips or other chocolate candy coating) and pour and spread evenly over the top of the Oreo truffle layer. Cover and put in fridge until set.
   

Pasta Carbonara

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound bacon or pancetta
• 1 whole small onion
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup white wine (or chicken or vegetable stock)
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 bunch parsley
• 2 whole eggs
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese plus more for garnish
• 1/2 pound linguine pasta
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• pine nuts
• Olive Oil

Makes 4 servings

1) Slice bacon into thin slices and cook on stove top until cooked. Drain bacon from grease on paper towels and set aside. Reserve some grease for cooking onions in step 2.

2) Chop onion finely and cook diced onion in a reasonable amount of bacon grease (1 or 2 tablespoons) for 2-3 minutes over medium-high constant stirring to avoid burning.

3) Slice the garlic and add it to the onions, after the onions have cooked for a couple of minutes. Cook garlic and onion together for 2 more minutes and remove them from the pan, using slotted spoon. Discard the grease.

4) Place the same pan (where you cooked onion and garlic in bacon grease) back on high heat, pour in the white wine (or stock) to deglaze the pan. Stir, scraping the bits off the bottom of the pan. Add 1/2 cup chicken stock. Return bacon, onion and garlic back to the pan. Let simmer covered over low heat, do not let too much liquid (chicken stock) to evaporate.

5) Chop the parsley. Crack eggs into a large bowl. Add Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley to the eggs. Leave out half of parmesan. Mix well with a fork.

6) Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water according to pasta instructions, al dente. Drain the pasta and add very hot pasta to the egg mixture and mix thoroughly. Then add bacon, onion, and garlic mixture to the pasta, mix again. Add 2 tablespoons of butter to mix. Add olive oil to taste (I added about 3 tablespoons. Add the rest of the cheese and pine nuts and mix well. Salt and pepper to taste and garnish with chopped parsley.

Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies

Okay, these are seriously so easy. Just take your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and add crushed pretzels. See? Easy. I use the Ghiradelli recipe :)

1 cup butter or margarine, softened
³/₄ cup sugar
³/₄ cup brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 ¹/₄ cups unsifted flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¹/₂ teaspoon salt
1 bag chocolate chips (You can use less but I like a lot of chocolate)
3 cups (or more) crushed pretzels (crush them using a mallot or a food processor)

Directions

Heat oven to 375ºF.

Stir flour with baking soda and salt; set aside. In large mixing bowl, beat butter with sugar and brown sugar at medium speed until creamy and lightened in color. Add eggs and vanilla, one at a time. Mix on low speed until incorporated. Gradually blend dry mixture into creamed mixture. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.

Sour Cream Enchiladas

1 lb chicken breast, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
8 flour tortillas, softened (8 inches each)
1 1/2 cups grated monterey jack cheese or 1 1/2 cups Mexican blend cheese, divided
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1 (15 ounce) can chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies
1 can original Rotel tomatoes



Directions:
In frypan, cook chicken and onion together in oil over medium-high heat until chicken is just done. Stir in Rotel tomatoes.
Divide cooked chicken evenly between 8 tortillas; add 1 1/2 tablespoons cheese to each tortilla.
Roll enchiladas and place seam-side down in 9x13" baking dish that has been lightly sprayed with no-stick cooking spray.
Melt butter in a medium saucepan; stir in flour to make a roux; stir and cook until bubbly; gradually whisk in chicken broth then bring to boiling, stirring frequently.
Remove from heat; stir in sour cream and green chiles; pour sauce evenly over enchiladas.
Top with remaining 3/4 cup cheese (baking dish may be double-wrapped and frozen at this point) and bake at 400F for 20 minutes until cheese is melted and sauce near edges of baking dish is bubbly.

S'mores Brownies

And for dessert...

1 pack brownie mix (Betty Crocker,  Duncan Hines, etc. – my selection had 18 servings, 140 calories each)

1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup water
1 large egg
2 cups miniature marshmallows
4 graham crackers, cut into chunks
2 Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bars, cut into each segments

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray 9×9-inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Prepare the brownie mix according to the directions on the box (or use your favorite homemade recipe) using the oil, egg, and water.

After baking, remove the pan from the oven and set the oven to broil at 500-550 F.

Cool brownies for about a minute then sprinkle the marshmallows over the warm brownies. Make sure to cover most of the area. Sprinkle the graham crackers on top of the marshmallows. Broil about 4-5 inches from the heat for 30 seconds to a minute until the marshmallows are golden brown. Watch carefully so that they don’t burn. Sprinkle with Hershey’s milk chocolate bars.

Italian Crack Bread

Served this with the pasta!

1 Italian loaf, about 12 inches long 

1 stick butter, melted

1/8 cup olive oil

3 tsp minced onion

2-3 cloves garlic, grated

1 tbsp dijon mustard

1 tbsp poppy seeds

3 tsp chopped parsley (add more if you wish)

12 oz grated cheese (I used a mix of white cheddar and monterey jack.)

Preheat the oven to 350 F. 

Mix the melted butter, olive oil, onion, garlic, dijon mustard, poppy seeds and parsley in a bowl. 

Cut the bread into cubes with X slices without cutting all the way through the bottom crust. 

Pour the butter-onion garlic mixture carefully into those X cracks using a small spoon and over the top of the bread. Fill those delicious cracks with the grated cheese. (It seems like a lot of work and trouble but it's all worth it. Yes.)

Wrap the entire loaf with foil, sealing the sides properly and bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and unwrap. Bake for another 10 minutes until the cheese is melted and gooey.

Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup

This is so good if you're looking for something nice and warm to eat in the winter (or anytime of the year :P)

Ingredients:
2 whole large Cloves Of Garlic Minced
2 Tbl Olive Oil
2 10 3/4 oz Cans of Condensed Tomato Soup
1/4 cup Sun Dried Tomatoes, chopped or 2 Tbl Of Sun Dried Tomato Paste
2 cups Half-and-half
2 cups Chicken Stock or Vegetable Stock
1 tsp Onion Powder
1 Tbl Italian Seasoning
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
1 whole 9 Oz Package Of Cheese Filled Tortellini
1/2 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese, for garnish 

Instructions:
Saute garlic with the olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat until golden brown.
Be sure to keep an eye on it so it doesn’t get too brown or burnt.
When the garlic is done, add tomato soup, tomatoes, half and half, chicken stock and spices.
Bring to a simmer.
Once simmering, drop tortellini into the soup. Cook according to the package directions.
After tortellini are cooked, ladle soup into bowls and top with parmesan cheese.

Cake Batter Fudge

Alright, 10 minute easy recipe. I really liked it, although if you don't have a sweet tooth, you probably won't find it as good as I did.

Ingredients:
1 cup dry cake mix
1 cup powdered sugar
4 tbls. (1/2 stick) butter
1/4 cup milk

Instructions:
Mix dry cake mix and powdered sugar in a MICROWAVE SAFE bowl
Add butter and milk, but DO NOT mix
Put bowl in the microwave for 2 minutes.
Take it out and stir until everything is well incorporated.
Put the batter in a flat pan (I used a plastic Tupperware container) and refrigerate for 1 hour

Macaroni and Cheese

 This is the most delicious mac and cheese recipe I have ever come across. I added a few things of my own to the recipe (like panko bread crumbs... and bacon.)

Ingredients:
For the cheese sauce:
14 oz. shredded cheddar cheese (I used Kraft medium cheddar)
2 oz. shredded jack cheese (I used Tillamook)
4 tbsp. (1/2 stick) of unsalted butter
1/3 cup flour
3 cups milk
1/2 tsp. course salt
1/4 tsp. chile powder
1/8 tsp. garlic powder

For the mac and cheese:
Butter/vegetable oil/cooking oil for cooking pan
1 box penne
1 oz. cheddar cheese
1 oz. Gruyere cheese (I found and applewood smoked cheese that smells like bacon and I would not use another type of Gruyere cheese now)
Bacon (optional)
Panko bread crumbs (optional)

Instructions for cheese sauce:
1. Melt butter in sauce pan over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Continue whisking and cooking for about 2 minutes.
2. Slowly add milk, whisking constantly. Cook, stirring frequently until sauce has thickened. This should take about 10 minutes. Add jack and cheddar cheese, chile powder, garlic powder and salt. Stir until cheese has melted and remove from heat.

Instructions for mac and cheese:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a large baking dish and set aside.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions but for 2 minutes less (al dente) Rinse pasta in cold water and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix cheese sauce and pasta until well incorporated.
4. Pour pasta in prepared baking dish and sprinkle cheddar cheese over the top. Next, chop up the bacon into small-ish pieces and put the bacon over the top, followed by the bread crumbs, and then the gruyere cheese. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes. Done! Let cool and enjoy!

Pigs in a Blanket

Okay, these are super easy! The only ingredients are  Pillsbury crescent dough and little cocktail weenies :P

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Just cut the dough into small triangles, (I managed to cut about 6 from every sheet of dough) and wrap each mini hot dog and cook for about 10-15 minutes or until they are golden brown!

Fish Taco Bowls

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3-4 tilapia filets (or other fish filet of your choice)
• 1-2 cloves minced garlic
• (I used a pre-seasoned blackened Mahi Mahi and it was perfect with this recipe. So if you have another type of seasoning you like on fish, that will work too.)
• 1 cup fresh sweet corn kernels (sliced off the cob is the best)
• 1 red onion, diced
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 1 can black beans
• cooked brown rice (I used about 2 cups)
• fresh cilantro, avocado, sour cream (I used Jalapeno Ranch instead), or pico de gallo for topping

Instructions

1. Mix the spices together in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over both sides of the fish filets. (I like to season my fish a LOT, but just sprinkle on however much looks good to you.) Add salt and pepper to taste.
2. In a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat, heat a drizzle of olive oil. Add the garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes. Add the fish filets to the pan. Grill the fish on each side for several minutes, checking the middle for doneness (fish should be completely white and flake apart easily). Remove fish filets and set aside.
1. Since I used a pre-seasoned fish, I skipped these steps and instead just grilled the fish until done.
3. Add corn, red peppers and the black beans to the pan and heat through.
4. Layer rice, corn/peppper mixture, and fish in a bowl – or mix everything together in the skillet. Top with any of the toppings listed above! (My favorite mix of toppings was the cilantro, jalapeno ranch, avacado, and pico de gallo.

Italian Cream Sodas

Ingredients

• Club Soda
• Half & Half
• Torani Syrups
• Ice

To make one Italian Cream Soda, you'll need:

• 1/2 cup Club Soda
• 3 TBSP Torani Syrup
• 1 TBSP Half & Half
• ice cubes
• whipped cream and a cherry for the top!

It's as easy as that!