Kami's Donut Muffins

Well, folks, Coach Coombs has done it again. Melissa passed this recipe of Kami's on to me since Kami is the most domestic person I know/best baker of all time, I knew they'd be good. I made these little bites of delicious for a work potluck tomorrow and suffice it to say, I may have to make a new batch before work in the morning. I made them in a mini muffin pan and they're just so easy to pop in my mouth! These suckers are like crack.

Oh hello, worst iPhone picture of all time.

Melissa made these for her sister's shower the other day and I can just imagine how perfect they were. They're just the perfect little food for a brunch. I am having to talk myself out of walking back in to the kitchen right now...

Muffins that Taste Like Doughnuts
1 3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup oil
3/4 cup white sugar
1 whole egg
3/4 cup milk

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Combine oil, egg, sugar and milk. Add dry ingredients. Stir ONLY to just combine. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, melt butter in bowl. Combine sugar with cinnamon. Take muffins out while still hot, dip top of muffin in butter then cinnamon/sugar mixture. Let cool.

Shannon's "To Die For" Brownies

Whoah baby. These bad boys are good. Especially if you're in the mood for chocolate, which I am. I snatched this recipe from Shannon's blog and then I cursed her for making this recipe known to me. I made a pan today to take with dinner to a friend who just had a baby and I'm afraid much of the pan isn't making it over there today. I just wish I had vanilla ice cream to complete this sinful treat.

To Die For Brownies

1 cup butter

1/2 cup cocoa

2 TBS. honey

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 3/4 cup flour

1/2 TBS baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1 t. vanilla (I add more)

Melt butter in micro and then mix in the cocoa. Add in the rest of the ingredients. Grease a 9x13 pan and bake at 350 for about 25 minutes.

Chocolate Frosting

5 TBS butter

dash of salt

3 TBS milk

1/3 cup cocoa

1 TBS corn syrup

2 1/3 cup powdered sugar

1/2 t. vanilla

Paula Deen's Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies

I recently discovered that Paula Deen is on at the exact same time I eat my egg beaters with Vlasic pickles every morning (that's a different post.) I love Paula. I wish she was my grandma. I especially love her because most of her recipes are SO easy. Just how I like them!

I needed to make some treats for Preston's home teachees tonight and I remembered watching Paula make these on an episode from last week. The recipe looked easy enough so I gave it a try. Yum. My recommendation? Twelve minutes is about two minutes too long. At least in my oven. The first batch was a little dry but once I shortened the cooking time they were perfect. Especially with milk!


Ingredients

* 1 (8-ounce) brick cream cheese, room temperature
* 1 stick butter, at room temperature
* 1 egg
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 (18-ounce) box moist chocolate cake mix
* Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter 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 up so that you can roll the batter into balls. Roll the chilled batter into tablespoon sized balls and then roll them in confectioner's sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake 12 minutes. The cookies will remain soft and "gooey." Cool completely and sprinkle with more confectioners' sugar, if desired.

Balsamic Asparagus Chicken

Have you ever had the Chicken Madeira at Cheesecake Factory? This recipe is nearly identical. SO. GOOD. We tried it out for Sunday dinner tonight and it did not disappoint. The sauce is so delish. Preston made the mashed potatoes to go with it and I couldn't believe how good they were. His response? "Just because I don't cook doesn't mean I can't cook." Noted.


(Excuse the stinky iPhone picture.)

This recipe is super easy, although it does require juggling a few different things at one time. Let's be honest, if I can do it, anyone can. Also, you could probably make this recipe a whole lot healthier by using fat free cheese but hey, it's Sunday, we only cook like this once a week.

Enjoy!


4 chicken breasts

Marinade:
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar (I used Wishbone Balsamic Vinaigrette because it was WAY cheaper than straight Balsamic Vinegar.)
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tsp brown sugar
pepper to taste

Sauce:
2 TBLS vegetable oil
2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1 can (about 2 cups) beef broth
1 TBLS butter

Topping:
12 asparagus spears
4 slices provolone cheese
4 slices of mozzarella cheese

Place chicken between 2 pieces of Saran wrap and pound until it is about 1/4 inch thick. Place chicken in a Ziploc bag. Combine marinade ingredients and pour in the bag. Squeeze all the air out of the bag and refrigerate for about 2 hours. About 20 min before chicken is done marinating, heat oil in large skillet. Add mushrooms and saute for a couple minutes. Add remaining sauce ingredients, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer for about 30 min or until sauce thickens and reduces to about 1/4 of its original volume (when it is done, the sauce should be dark brown in color).

While the sauce is simmering, place chicken in a lightly greased glass dish and bake 400 degrees for 15-20 min (or until cooked through). While chicken is baking, prepare the asparagus. Bring a saucepan, filled 1/2 way with salted water, to a boil. Toss in asparagus and boil for about 4 min. Quickly remove asparagus and drop in an ice-water bath. Remove chicken from the oven (when it's finished) and layer on one slice of provolone cheese, a few asparagus spears, then one slice of mozzarella (I grated mine instead) on each piece of chicken. Set the oven to broil and broil about 3 min or until cheese is melted and starts to brown a little. Right before serving, spoon some of the sauce over each piece of chicken.

Coconut Chex MIx

At first I didn't think I would like this mix because of the coconut...but it is so good!! I could eat the whole mix by myself!

In a large bowl mix:

1 bag coconut

1bag slivered almonds

12 cups Chex cereal

· I usually do 6 cups rice Chex and 6 cups corn Chex but you can also use wheat Chex or honey nut Chex

In a sauce pan place:

1 -1/3 cup sugar

1 -1/3 cup light Karo

1 cup butter

1 tsp. vanilla

Melt and boil for 2 min. Pour boiled mixture over dry ingredients and stir altogether. Pour and spread mixture out on wax paper and let sit to cool about 30 minutes. Tightly cover to keep moist.

I added mini M&M's to the mix! Love the chocolate, but you might want to wait and add the M&M's till the mixture has cooled off a bit!

Garlic Chicken Pasta

We had the missionaries over for dinner the other night and I decided to try this recipe out on them. It's always a little dicey trying a new recipe on people other than immediately family but it was a WIN-NER. It made quite a bit too. We were a little worried that it wouldn't be enough but we fed 6 adults just fine. Preston thought it was a little too spicy (I might have gone a little heavy on the black pepper) but I like it spicy!

We had it with corn bread and a salad. Dee-lish!

• 16 oz. Farfalle (bow-tie) Pasta
• 1 c Heavy whipping cream
• 3-4 chicken breasts halves-boneless, skinless
• Spoonful of crushed garlic (approx 3-4 cloves)
• 1 TBS black pepper
• 1/2 c butter
• 1 lb bacon
• 1/2 c shredded parmesan cheese
• 1 bottle of Lawry's mesquite with lime juice marinade

Crock pot chicken with marinade on low for 6 hours-shred and set aside

Cook bacon and crumble

About 1/2 hour before serving, boil the pasta.

In a small saucepan melt butter, add garlic, whipping cream, pepper, parm cheese and crumbled bacon. Whisk together on low for 3-4 minutes.

In a large bowl pour sauce over cooked, drained pasta, add chicken and stir.

Sprinkle parm cheese on top!

Steak and Noodles

My friend, Alisa, posted this recipe on her blog and I knew it wold be something Preston would like. He's all about steak and mushrooms. We made it tonight and it was super delicious and perfect for this chilly Huntington Beach night! We had it over egg noodles but I think it would awesome over rice too.

Steak & Noodles
1 lb. of steak, cut into small strips
1/2 lb. chopped mushrooms
3 T. chopped onion
Dash of salt and pepper
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 can cream of mushroom soup
8 oz. sour cream
1 tsp. Lawry's seasoning salt
1 T. parsley

Saute' steak, mushrooms and onion in 1/4 cup of butter. Cook until steak is done and tender. Stir in rest of ingredients. Simmer for 15 minutes. Serve over noodles.

Chocolate Butterscotch Oatmeal Bars

Oh man. These are officially my new favorite dessert. I could eat the whole stinkin pan. Almost did.

I had been meaning to try these for over a year and finally made them for a friend's birthday yesterday. Oh my. These babies changed my life. I know they don't look like much but I promise, they're amazing. They don't even sound like something I would go crazy for but I did. And do. And will forever! YUM!

2 cups of melted butter
2 1/4 c. of brown sugar
3 cups of Quaker oats
3 cups of flour
1 1/2 tsp of salt
1 1/2 tsp of vanilla


Mix all ingredients and spread half of the mixture out on a cookie sheet. (I used a 9x13 pan and they were perfect!) Bake at 350 for 8 min.

Then combine :
1 jar of butterscotch (I only had a jar of caramel on hand so that's what I used.)
2 Tbls of flour


Pour on top of baked oatmeal mixture then add 1 cup of chocolate chips and 1 cup of butterscotch chips and put evenly on top of mixture. Crumble remaining oatmeal mixture on top and bake for 15-20 min.

When they come out of the oven they will completely fall apart so wait and make sure they're completely cooled before you cut into them. I waited an hour and the first piece I cut was still really crumbly so I put them in the fridge for another hour and they reached perfection!

P.S. We dropped them off at our friend's house last night and her sister (also a friend!) was there and texted me within ten minutes to say they were delish and she needed the recipe stat. And in our neighborhood (which is comprised of 50 percent of our ward,) there are some seriously delish treats being made so you know these are good if they made the cut ;)

Sopapilla Cheesecake

I have been meaning to try this recipe for weeks and have even had the ingredients in the fridge ready to go. When some friends invited us over for dinner tonight, I volunteered to bring sopapilla cheesecake for dessert! Good choice. It's delish. A little rich (have some milk on hand!) but it was a hit. I drizzled honey on mine...YUM.

Sopapilla Cheesecake

24 oz cream cheese (softened)
1 1/2 cups of white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
2 cans of crescent dough (the seamless kind works best)

1/2 cup of butter (melted)
1/2 cup of white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon


Place 1 can of the seamless crescent dough in a 9x13 pan. Press down. Sprinkle with cinnamon (the more the better.)

Beat softened cream cheese, 1 1/2 cups of white sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth. Spread the mixture evenly over the dough in the pan.

Cover the cream cheese mixture with the second piece of crescent dough.

Evenly pour the melted butter on top of the cheesecake. Stir together the remaining sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle this over the cheesecake. The butter will soak this up and make a YUMMY, crunchy crust.

Bake for about 35 mins at 350 degrees.

Shortbread Brownies

This was my attempt at cute, yummy Halloween treats for my VT girls. The jury is out on the cute part but they were definitely yummy. Michael's has a zillion different colors of the Wilton's melting chocolate that I frosted them with, so you could make variations for different holidays throughout the year!



Ingredients
Family Size Brownie Mix
2 sticks butter
1/2 c sugar
2 Tbsp packed brown sugar
1 3/4 c flour
1/4 tsp salt
Wilton's Melting Chocolate

Directions
1. Preheat over to 350
2. Prepare brownie mix as directed on box.
3. In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugars until creamy and light.
4. Slowly add flour and salt till combined.
5. Press shortbread into an 11x7 pan lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray.
6. Pour brownie batter on top of shortbread layer.
7. Bake for 45 minutes or until fork comes out clean.
8. Let cool completely before frosting.
9. Melt Wilton's chocolate in microwave as directed on package. Spread on top of brownies.
10. Melt some white chocolate chips and drizzle over the top if you want :)

French Apple Pie

I am not an apple pie lover...but this recipe is delicious!! It's the only apple pie that I will eat! It would be a great addition to the Thanksgiving dessert spread.

Crust:

1 C. flour

2 Tbs. sugar

1 stick margarine

Dash of salt

Capful of Almond Extract

Filling:

4 C. sliced and peeled apples

1/2 C. sugar

2 Tbs. flour

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Crumb Topping:

1/2 C. flour

1/2 C. sugar

1/2 C. butter

1. Mix crust ingredients together in a bowl with your hands. Once well blended, press into pie pan (this crust does not need to be rolled out).

2. Peel, core and slice apples and mix with other ingredients. Pour over crust.

3. Mix topping ingredients with hands. Sprinkle over the top of the pie.

4. Place pie in a paper bag and cook in the oven at 350 degrees for an hour and a half.

Puddle Bars

These are the easiest and best treat ever! Perfect for a Sunday evening!

Yellow Cake Mix

Stick of Butter

1 egg

MIx these together and press 2/3 of the mix into the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan.

Second Layer:

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 c. chocolate chip

Melt this combo in the microwave and pour over the 2/3 that you pressed into the bottom of the baking dish.

Take the remaining 1/3 and make "puddles" on the top.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

Folks, we may have a problem. I think I found my new favorite chocolate chip cookie. Ever. This recipe is the bomb dot com. It trumps all other recipes. Ya know what it tastes like? Oregano's pizookie cookie dough! I'm serious. I consider myself to be a chocolate chip cookie connoisseur, and this might be the perfect cookie. Amen.

3/4 c sugar

3/4 c packed brown sugar

1/2 c butter

1/2 c shortening

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 c flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Combine sugar, butter, and shortening. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix on high for 2 minutes. Add flour, salt, and baking soda. Mix. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop by spoonful onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Let your husband have a few and then hide the rest and pretend you gave them to the girls you visit teach.

Amazing Peach Cobbler

This peach cobbler was so easy to make and so delicious! I haven't stopped thinking about it since we had it two nights ago. Make it tonight!! 1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp baking powder
3/4 cup milk
3 cups sliced fresh peaches - leave skins on
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350
Melt the butter in a medium saute pan over medium high heat until it bubbles and turns golden-brown
Pour the butter into an 8 inch square baking dish
In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and milk
Pour the batter on top of the melted butter, do not stir
Without mixing, arrange the peaches evenly on top of the batter
Evenly sprinkle the brown sugar over the cobbler
Bake the cobbler for 40-45 minutes, until the top turns golden-brown. The batter will migrate from the bottom of the pan to cover the peach slices partially.

Serve warm with vanilla icecream or whipped topping. Makes 6-8 servings.

Karli's Pumpkin Pancakes

This is Karli's recipe but she's a slacker so I'm posting it for her. Ha! These pancakes are dreamy and the syrup is what makes them. Oh, the syrup! It seriously rocks my world. This recipe is a General Conference breakfast staple around these parts and it should be in your parts too!

2 1/3 c. bisquick
1/3 C. canned pumpkin
1 ¼ c. milk
1/4 C. vegetable oil
2 Tbs. sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
2 eggs

Blend to make a thick batter. Bake on a griddle at 375°.

Syrup:

1 C. sugar
1/2 C. buttermilk
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cube butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Place ingredients in a pot and boil over medium heat until frothy.

Peach Smoothie

Every year I order peaches from Utah. They are soooo good! Since I ordered a whole box for my family (roughly 100) peaches, I figured I better try out some peach recipes before they go bad.

Today, the kids and I made Peach Smoothies. They were delicious and really easy to make!

2 medium peaches pitted

1 cup vanilla yogurt

1 cup crushed ice (i just crushed mine in the blender with the other ingredients)

1/4 cup sugar

blend all ingredients together in the blender until smooth

Stay tuned for more "peach" recipes.

Katie's Spagetti Sauce

Okay, I don't claim to be a great cook. There are only a handful of things that I think I make really well and this spagetti sauce happens to be one of them. I have combined a few different recipes to come up with my own. My husband loves this recipe, which means a lot considering he went to culinary school. I love the way it makes the house smell while it is simmering too!

1 pound ground beef
1 pound sausage
Brown, drain, and put in saucepan
Add onion powder and minced garlic to taste

Add 1 can mushrooms, drained
Add 1 large can crushed tomatoes
2 cans tomato sauce
2 small cans tomato paste
2 cans water (tomato paste cans)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 tsp thyme
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 Tbsp basil
1 1/2 Tbsp oregano

mix up and bring to boil
simmer 4-5 hours or until tomatoes lose their sharp taste.

This recipe makes a ton of sauce. I usually freeze half or plan on leftovers for the next day or two. It is nice to have some frozen for when you need to take a last minute meal to someone or need a last minute dinner at home.

*Variations - when I am trying to eat healthier I use ground turkey meat instead of beef and sausage. Sausage can also be left out if you prefer just ground beef. Sometimes I do all of the spices to taste instead of measuring out.

I have been trying to make some healthier choices for my family so I tried to get my kids to eat whole grain or whole wheat pasta. They weren't having it. A good friend of mine told me about this pasta and said her kids will eat so I thought I would give it a try. They did not mention a thing....they ate it and didn't even know it was different and healthier. I now use this anytime we make a pasta dish.

Shredded Chicken Tacos

I got this delicious recipe from my sister's sister-in-law, Carynn. Carynn has some great recipes and this is one of them. It is so quick and easy.

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 bunch green onions
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 can green chilis
1 tsp. cumin
garlic powder to taste
salt, pepper to taste

Boil chicken until no longer pink (can be boiled from frozen)
Shred while still hot
Brown green onions in a little oil, then add chicken and all other ingredients

Serve in fried corn tortillas with a little cheese on top. Heat in the microwave to heat the cheese for a few seconds. Can add tomatoes, sour cream, and lettuce but good with just cheese too.

*Now, since I am trying to watch what I eat, I skip the cheese and fried tortilla. I use the carb balance soft flour tortillas. That is what I used in the picture, with a little cheese :).

Caramel Crunch Bars

So when Hilarry diets, she looks at recipe blogs. She then posts her findings to my Facebook wall to bake then ultimately get fat. That is true friendship. This is a great recipe to gain a few extra pounds!!! Good find Hilarry!

Caramel Crunch Bars

*Makes one 9X13-inch pan of bars*

80 club crackers (I used multi-grain)
1 cup butter
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup fimrly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate morsels

1/2 cup butterscotch morsels

Line an ungreased 9X13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving an extension of foil on either end. Line the foil with 1 layer of club crackers, cutting to fit if necessary (in my 9X13-inch pan, the crackers lined up evenly without the need to trim).

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, milk and sugar. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 miutes, stirring constantly. (Begin timing 5 minutes from when you see the first bubbles.) Remove from heat and spread half of butter mixture evenly over crackers. (In this step you have to press into place or else the crackers move...so press the mixture down in small sections over the crackers.) Place another single layer of crackers evenly over butter mixture, cutting to fit if necessary. Spread remaining butter mixture evenly over crackers. Top evenly with remaining crackers.

In a small saucepan (or in the microwave), combine peanut butter, chocolate morsels, and butterscotch morsels. Melt over medium-low heat, stirring constantly. Spread evenly over top of crackers. Cover, and chill for at least 1 hour. Lift foil overhang and remove bars from pan. Cut into bars. Store in the refrigerator.

Easiest, Yummy Lasagna

(Again, this picture was another victim of the missing camera. Oh iphone, I love you but your food pictures are crap.)

I am not kidding when I say I rarely make recipes that include more than 6 or 7 ingredients. The second I see spices or sauteeing in a recipe, I'm out. If it requires me to run around the grocery store looking for random ingredients that I don't normally buy, I want no part of it. Hence, I love this lasagna recipe. Trust me when I tell you that even though it's beyond simple, it's also beyond good. Preston took leftovers for lunch 2 days in a row and he does not do leftover. Now that's saying something!

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 lb. cottage cheese
1 cup sour cream
18 slices of mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
8 lasagna noodles (oven ready)

1. Brown the ground beef. Add the spaghetti sauce. Heat it through and set on low.
2. Combine cottage cheese and sour cream in a bowl. Mix well.
3. Put a little of the meat sauce in the bottom of a 9X13 pan. (Enough to cover bottom). Then put 4 of the noodles right on top.
4. Spread half of the cottage cheese mixture on top. Layer 6 slices of mozarella.
5. Put half of remaining meat sauce on top of the mozzarella. Sprinkle half of the parmesan.
6. Make one more layer, starting with noodles.
7. Top with remaining mozzarella.
8. Cover with foil at bake for 1 hour at 350. Remove foil and bake for 15 more minutes.

I think this recipe might be another one that could be made healthier with fat free cottage cheese, light sour cream, and fat-free mozzarella. Next time!