German Chocolate Cake Bars

by penji1

German Chocolate Cake Bars

The kids get home from trek today and they are having a welcome home party for them and needed treats so I gave these a try.  There were some crumbs left in the pan and the crumbs were delicious so I can only assume that the bars were too.  It’s a Six Sisters’ Stuff recipe.

crust

1 Devil’s Food cake mix

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

1 egg

filling

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condense milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup shredded coconut

1/2 – 1 cup milk chocolate chips

1  Preheat oven to 350.  Grease 9 x 13″ pan with cooking spray.

2  Mix together cake mix, butter and egg then press into bottom of pan.  Crust should not come up sides.  Bake for 7 minutes and remove from oven.  Crust will not look done.

3  Mix together sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, egg, pecans and coconut.  Pour evenly over warm crust and sprinkle with chocolate chips.  Bake for 24 – 30 minutes, until top is light golden brown.  Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Copycat Costco Muffins

by penji1

Copycat Costco Muffins - Lemon Blueberry and Almond Poppy Seed

The youth at our church are going on a Pioneer Trek this weekend and I was asked to help with the food so for their “bus” snack on the way there I decided to make some muffins.  I found this recipe for Copycat Costco Muffins on Food.com and decided to give it a try but I’m realizing as I’m typing this that I did not even sample one muffin, I sent them all on the trek so I have no idea how they taste!  I guess I’ll have to make them again, bummer.

1 box cake mix

2 tablespoons flour

3 eggs

2/3 cup milk

1/3 cup oil

1 teaspoon baking powder

1  Add all ingredients to bowl of mixer and mix on low for 30 seconds then on medium for 2 minutes.

2  Scoop into prepared muffin cups.

3  Bake at 350 or 325 for darker pans for 20 minutes or until tops are lightly browned.

Variations:

Pictured above are Lemon Blueberry and Almond Poppy Seed

Lemon Blueberry – Use a lemon cake mix and add 1 – 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries or 1 – 1/2 cups Alison’s Pantry Blueberry Flavored Bits

Almond Poppy Seed – Use a white cake mix and add  1 teaspoon almond extract and 2 teaspoons poppy seeds

Copycat Costco Muffins - Chocolate Chocolate Chip and Banana Chocolate Chip

Chocolate Chocolate Chip and Banana Chocolate Chip

Chocolate Chocolate Chip – Use a chocolate cake mix and add 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Banana Chocolate Chip – Use a yellow cake mix and add 3 mashed up bananas and 1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips

Copycat Costco Muffins - Chocolate Chip

Chocolate Chip – Use a white cake mix and add 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1/2 cups of chocolate chips, I did half semisweet and half milk

Slow Cooker Kung Pao Chicken

by penji1

Slow Cooker Kung Pao Chicken

Last week I spent about an hour and half putting together 14 freezer meals, 7 for us and 7 for Courtney and Jaren.  I found this great post on the “Six Sisters’ Stuff” website called “10 Five Minute Freezer Meals” so I decided to give it a whirl.  I made 7 of them, two required cream soups which I try to avoid and one called for spareribs which I couldn’t find at Winco and didn’t have time to go to another store.  You don’t have to do this as a freezer meal obviously, you can just throw it all in the crock pot and make it for dinner.  It was yummy but a bit too spicy for me.

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used some frozen ones from Costco and a pound was 2 breasts)

1 (18.75 oz) bottle Panda Express Kung Pao Sauce

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced (she said the peppers get mushy when frozen so I left those out for the freezer version)

1 bunch green onions, diced

1 (8 oz) can water chestnuts

Freezer Meal Instructions

Place all ingredients in gallon Ziploc bag and freeze.  When ready to prepare, let thaw in freezer overnight.  Add contents of bag to crock pot and cook on low 5 – 6 hours or on high 3 – 4 hours.  When done remove chicken and cut into bite sized pieces then return to crock pot and stir into sauce.  Serve over rice.

Straight to Crock Pot Instructions

Put chicken in crock pot and pour sauce over.  Cook on low 5 – 6 hours or on high 3 – 4 hours.  For last 30 minutes of cooking, turn to high and add peppers, onions and water chestnuts.  When done remove chicken, cut into bite sized pieces, return to crock pot and stir into sauce.  Serve over rice.

Chocolate Diet Coke Cake

by penji1

Diet Coke Cake

So I decided for the dessert for Bob’s Father’s Day feast to try that Diet Coke cake that’s all over Pinterest.  You know the one where it’s a cake mix and a can of Diet Coke and that’s it?  Yeah, so this is that cake.  I told Bob what it was but I didn’t tell Courtney, Jaren or Zach just to see what they said and they ate the cake and said it was great and then I told them what it was and they were all surprised that it tasted as good as it did.  It’s super easy too.

1 can Diet Coke

1 chocolate cake mix

1 container low fat Cool Whip

strawberries

1  Preheat oven to 350.  Spray bottom only of 9 x 13″ pan with cooking spray.

2  Stir together the can of Diet Coke and the cake mix in a bowl, you may need to use a whisk to get the lumps out.

3  Pour into prepared pan and bake according to cake mix directions.

4  Let cool completely then top with Cool Whip and strawberries.

If you cut the cake into 12 pieces, it’s about 200 calories a piece.

Apple Pecan Feta Spinach Salad with Maple Cider Vinaigrette

by penji1

Apple Pecan Feta Spinach Salad with Maple Cider Vinaigrette

We had a big Father’s Day feast last night because Bob and I are going to be gone on actual Father’s Day.  We had ribs, steak, broccoli and this delicious salad plus cake for dessert which I’ll post tomorrow.  This salad though is one of the best salads I’ve ever made, it was so flavorful!  It comes from “Cooking Classy”.

salad

10 oz baby spinach

3 small or 2 medium Gala apples, cored and thinly sliced

1 cup pecans

4 oz Feta cheese, crumbled

1/2 cup dried cranberries

12 oz bacon, cooked and crumbled

1/2 small red onion, sliced into thin strips

dressing

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

2 teaspoons mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1  In a large bowl, toss all salad ingredients.

2  Combine dressing ingredients and mix well in a separate small bowl.

3  Drizzle dressing over salad and serve immediately.

Bridal Shower Waffle Bar

by penji1

Bridal Shower Waffle Bar Courtney and I got to host a bridal shower on Saturday for one of her very best friends Kindra.  We decided to do a waffle bar and it turned out so cute and so yummy!  There are so many Pick Your Plum products in this picture – the table runner, the matching paper plates, the mini chalkboard signs, the two stands on the left (chocolate waffles) and right (cinnamon roll waffles), and the metal serving tray holding all the toppings in the back which is hard to see.  If you’re not familiar with Pick Your Plum, check them out (you can thank me later!).  Up in the top right hand corner of the photo, you can see some blue mugs with treat bags in them; those were our “Thank you for coming” gifts and the treat bags held a Sugar Cookie Waffle.

We decided to serve  Chocolate Waffles

Chocolate Waffles

and Cinnamon Roll Waffles

Cinnamon Roll Waffles

and finally, Waffle Love Waffles

Waffle Love Waffles

For the toppings, we served homemade whipped cream (you can see that recipe in the Waffle Love post), raspberries, blueberries, and sliced strawberries and then an assortment of Nutella and some other flavored chocolate spreads, various Trader Joe’s Cookie Butters, and smooth and crunchy Biscoff. And even though these aren’t food, I just want to share with you the darling table centerpieces Courtney made using my Cricut

Paper Flower CenterpiecePaper Flower CenterpiecePaper Flower CenterpiecePaper Flower Centerpiece

So cute! So there’s our Bridal Shower Waffle Bar, hope you enjoyed seeing it as much as we enjoyed making it!  And congrats to Kindra and Kevin!

Bridal Shower Banner

Chocolate Waffles

by penji1

Chocolate Waffles

Courtney and I threw a Bridal Shower yesterday for one of her best friends, Kindra.  It turned out so cute and yummy!  We decided to have a waffle bar and these chocolate waffles from The Food Network along with some Waffle Love waffles and cinnamon roll waffles were the stars of the show.  I have not had a chance to try one of these yet but I was told that they were good but not very chocolatey.  This picture is just chock full of Pick Your Plum products – the treat stand the waffles are on, the table runner, the paper plates, the mini chalkboard sign and the round metal tray with all the toppings in the background.  If you aren’t familiar with Pick Your Plum, you should check it out, it’s awesome!

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons shortening

2 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons sugar

3 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup chocolate syrup plus more for topping

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1  Melt butter and shortening in small saucepan, stirring to combine.  Remove from heat and set aside.

2  In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.

3  In another bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together eggs, milk, chocolate syrup and vanilla.  Stir liquid mixture into dry until combined then stir in butter mixture.

4  Preheat oven to 250.  Preheat waffle iron and spray with cooking spray.  Ladle batter into waffle iron to within an inch of the edge and cook until crisp.  Transfer to baking sheet and keep warm in oven.

Slow Cooker Chicken Gyro Boats

by penji1

Slow Cooker Chicken Gyro Boats

Here are the oh so delicious chicken gyros from our Greek themed dinner with friends.  They were surprisingly easy and the Tzatziki sauce is to die for!  It’s a Betty Crocker recipe.

chicken

2 pounds skinless boneless chicken breasts or thighs

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped, grated or pressed

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

juice of 1 lemon

1/3 cup water

Tzatziki

16 oz Yoplait Greek 100 plain yogurt

1/2 English (hothouse) or regular cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced small

2 – 3 cloves garlic, grated, finely minced or pressed

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon dried dill weed

1 teaspoon dried oregano

salt and pepper as desired

juice of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon olive oil

tortillas and toppings

8 – 12 Old El Paso stand ‘n stuff tortillas, heated as per package instructions

1 red onion, sliced

1 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half

1 cup (4 oz) crumbled Feta cheese

1  Spray slow cooker with cooking spray.  Add all chicken ingredients to slow cooker and stir.  Cover and cook on low 6 – 8 hours or on high 4 – 6 hours.

2  Make Tzatziki, pour any liquid off surface of yogurt.  Stir together all Tzatziki ingredients except oil then drizzle oil over top.  Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to meld.

3  Remove chicken from slow cooker and shred with 2 forks or in your mixer with the paddle attachment.  Divide chicken among tortilla bowls and top with Tzatziki, onion, tomatoes and Feta.

Greek Pasta Salad #2

by penji1

Greek Pasta Salad

We had some family friends over last night for dinner and so I decided to make a Greek themed dinner which included this pasta salad, I’ll post the gyros later this week.  The recipe comes from “My Recipes” and it was pretty good also it made a huge bowl of salad which was good since there was 12 of us last night.

12 ounces pasta

1 (15 oz) can white beans, drained and rinsed

4 cups baby spinach

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1 cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded and sliced

4 scallions, finely chopped

1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, chopped

1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

4 ounces crumbled Feta

1  Cook pasta according to package directions.

2  Combine beans, spinach, tomatoes, scallions, olives, herbs, oil and lemon juice in large bowl.  Add drained pasta to bowl and toss to combine.  Let stand for 10 minutes to cool slightly.

3  Stir in Feta, season with salt and pepper.

Root Beer Baked Beans

by penji1

Root Beer Baked Beans

My cute friend Sam graduated from high school on Friday and her mom had a barbecue for her and asked if I would bring a side dish so I made these.  I ate a bite to make sure they were ok before I took them over to the barbecue but it left me wanting more so I guess I’ll have to make them for us at some point this summer.  The recipe comes from The Food Network.

4 slices bacon, cut into 1″ pieces

1 large onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

2 tablespoons tomato paste

3 cups root beer

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons molasses

1 tablespoon grainy mustard

4 (15 oz each) cans white beans such as Great Northern or cannellini, drained and rinsed

salt and pepper

1  Preheat oven to 400.  Set oven safe pot over medium heat and add bacon.  Cook until bacon is crisp about 8 minutes.  Remove bacon from pot with slotted spoon and set aside on paper towels.

2  Add onion, garlic and ginger to drippings in pot and cook until soft and golden, about 5 minutes.  Add tomato paste and cook until color deepens, about 1 minute.

3  Add root beer, vinegar, molasses, and mustard to pot.  Stir then bring to a boil.  Add beans and 3/4 of bacon, stirring gently so you don’t mash the beans.  Reduce heat to medium low and simmer until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Transfer to oven and bake, uncovered, until thick, about 30 minutes.  Top with remaining bacon.