White Chocolate Cranberry Blondies with Almonds

Credit for this recipe goes to Recipe Girl.

I am guilty of being a Starbucks addict. Recovering, maybe, because I have forced myself to not stop there three or four times a week to buy coffee and/or a pastry, but every once in a while, I do find myself there, and probably once a day, I find myself wishing I was.

Especially around the holidays. They have exceptional seasonal drinks (like caramel brulee latte) and my favorite pastry... the Cranberry Bliss Bar.

I found a recipe that was described to rival those bars, so naturally... I had to make it. Today, I went and purchased the rest of the chocolate (because I didn't have enough, sad day), and came home and made these.

I just tried one. It's DELICIOUS. I added almonds to the top (which is not in the recipe) and a little orange extract to the chocolate drizzle for extra... flavor, I guess. Guh! I can't wait for my mom to try one (she's coming over to babysit in a while). I think she'll love them!

White Chocolate Cranberry Blondies:

Blondie Layer:

3/4 c. salted butter

1 1/2 c. light brown sugar

2 large eggs

3/4 tsp. vanilla extract

2 1/4 c. flour

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 c. dried cranberries

6 ounces white baking chocolate (I used Ghiradelli white chocolate chips (I bought one bag total)

Frosting:

1 pkg. cream cheese, softened

1 c. powdered sugar

6 oz. white baking chocolate, melted (see above) and halved

1/2 c. dried cranberries, chopped

1/4 c. cut almonds (I forget what the cut style is called, but they're slivered, sort of, but whole?)

1/8 tsp. orange extract (optional)

For Blondies:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Spray a 9x13 pan, or line it with parchment paper (that's what I did).
• In a medium bowl, melt butter, then stir in brown sugar. Let cool to room temperature and transfer to a larger bowl.
• Using a mixer, beat in eggs and vanilla. Then add dry ingredients.
• Stir in cranberries and chocolate (I used half a bag of the chips). The batter will be very thick, like clay, almost.
• Spread the batter into the pan.
• Bake 18-21 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not over bake.
• Cool on a wire rack.

For Frosting:

• In a medium bowl, use a mixer to beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar until well-blended. Gradually add half of the melted white chocolate (so 1/4 bag melted chips), beat until blended.
• Frost blondies.
• Sprinkle with cranberries.
• Sprinkle with almonds.
• Melt the last portion of chocolate. I added 1/8 tsp. Orange Extract to it.
• Drizzle over the blondies. (Try not to make a giant mess... haha.)
• Cut the bars, and store in the fridge until ready to serve.

Of course, I ate one right away and then boasted to my mom via text message how delicious they are. Now, I should go put them in the fridge!

I have friends who work at Starbucks in various positions... and I hope they don't hate me for posting a "rip off" version of their pastry. Just sayin'.

Nik's Pseudo-Minestrone

Credit for this one goes to.... Me!

Yup, I just whipped this beauty up an hour ago.

As I have mentioned before, I'm a nut for crock pot soup. Tomorrow is my husband's birthday, and he'll be working all day and sleeping away overnight, so tonight, I'm taking him out for dinner and movie (not in that order) to celebrate. I wanted to make a new soup today, but, knowing we will be eating in six hours or so, I made it for lunch. And, I "cheated" a little and cooked everything and then just heated it all together in the crock pot after.

I like to think of this creation as a type of minestrone, but there's no beans, so I am calling it "Pseudo-Minestrone."

Total cooking time for this one was about an hour, I guess? I didn't actually keep track.

Nik's Pseudo-Minestrone:

1 lb. ground sausage, cooked

1 large can condensed tomato soup + 3/4 can water

6 c. chicken broth

1 medium zucchini, cut into chunks

1 medium yellow squash/zucchini, cut into chunks

1 bag frozen stew vegetables

1 bag frozen California blend vegetables

1 bag frozen tortellini (I used tri-color cheese, it looks very Christmas-y)

1 T. minced garlic

pepper to taste

Italian seasoning to taste (I used a lot)

Original Blend Mrs. Dash to taste

• I started by browning my ground sausage and draining it.
• Pour tomato soup & the water into the crock pot, as well as the chicken broth. Add your seasonings and sample for flavor (my favorite part).
• Add the sausage.
• Cut your zucchini and zucchini (haha) into chunks. (see below, I used way more than one cup)

• In a large (I didn't have a large, so it was a tight fit) saucepan, place your zucchini and zucchini, and both bags of vegetables. I took out the onions, because I hate them. Add enough water to cover, and cover the pan with a lid. Boil/steam until done.

• In another saucepan, cook the tortellini according to the package directions. (Look how festive my tortellini is!)

• When everything's cooked, slowly add it to the crockpot.
• Heat thoroughly.

I topped mine with shredded mozzarella cheese, because I love cheese.

This is a less spicy soup compared to my usual regime, but it's pretty tasty, I think. Jake says it's "really good." Oh, correction, he just said, "I think you did amazing. This is really, really good!" Haha.

Lasagna Cups

The credit for this recipe goes to Lauren's Latest.

On Sunday night, my cousin Tarah, and her wife, Kelsey, came over for round two of Hand & Feet with Jake & Nik. Before we played cards, Tarah and I made supper.

The menu: Lasagna Cups.

I am not going to type up the recipe because it's long and I'm a little pressed for time, so here's the link for it again.

They were delicious, for the most part. We didn't have zucchini to add to the sauce, and we didn't use onions because none of us appreciate them. We also didn't have two jumbo muffin tins, but this all fit into 12 regular sized ones just fine. My only complaint was that the noodles making the "cups" were pretty hard to cut and chew. Not sure if that was our fault, or just how it ends up. They were softer after sitting in an air-tight container in the fridge for leftovers.

It was dark in our kitchen, but here's our fresh out of the oven cups:

Birthday Cake Chocolate Bark

Credit for this recipe goes to How Sweet it Is.

When we were preparing for Spencer's birthday party, I came upon this recipe for cake batter chocolate bark. It looked delicious, but I ran out of time and energy to complete it for his birthday party. So, I put it off a few days, or weeks, or something, until I eventually got up the will to try to make it.

It was pretty simple. And it is pretty delicious. Though, I must warn you, it's super sweet. To combat the sweetness, I used dark chocolate with sea salt. It helped a bit!

I divided the recipe in half, knowing full well I could not eat an entire batch. I also used some different chocolates and more cake mix than her recipe calls for. But, like I said, it tasted delicious.

Here's how I did mine...

Birthday Cake Chocolate Bark:

3.5 oz dark chocolate with sea salt (I used Godiva)

7 oz. white chocolate (I used Lindt Vanilla Bean (I think it was Lindt))

2 T. yellow cake mix

sprinkles

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Melt dark chocolate in the microwave or double broiler. (I did mine in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until melted.) Pour onto baking sheet and smooth it with a spatula.
• Freeze for 20 minutes.
• Melt white chocolate as you did the dark chocolate.
• Slowly whisk in the cake mix, stirring until smooth. Let it sit for about 2 minutes (until slightly thick).
• Remove baking sheet from the freezer and immediately pour the white chocolate over it. Spread it evenly and add your sprinkles to the top.
• Freeze for 20 minutes (or two days, if you're me and forgot...)
• Once it's set, break it into chunks and taste!
• Store it in the fridge.

Ours has been in the fridge for about two weeks and is still pretty dang tasty. I know, two weeks sounds gross, but I promise, it's not. :)

Turkey & Chick-Pea Chili

When it starts getting cold outside, I start going crazy over soups. I especially adore homemade soups. I really enjoy being able to make them in my crockpot.

I don't know if chili is considered a soup, but to me, they're pretty similar.

Today, I decided to make chili. Jake will be delighted when he comes home from work tonight and has a nice hot bowl of chili waiting for him. (Well, the chili will be hot, but he'll have to dish it himself, most likely.)

Here's how I make my chili...

Turkey and Chick-Pea Chili:

1 pound ground turkey, seasoned with garlic and pepper, cooked and drained

1 large can tomato soup + 3/4 can water

1 (or 2) can(s) Garbanzo beans, drained (chick-peas)

2 cans chili beans in sauce (or two cans beans of your choice, drained)

1 small can mushrooms, drained, or 1/4 c. fresh mushrooms, sliced or chopped

1 can diced tomatoes (I used tomatoes with peppers)

Chili powder (or seasoning), to taste (I use enough to make it "almost very spicy" so my husband will still eat it)

Cayenne pepper, to taste

1 tsp. (or so) minced garlic

• I brown my turkey, adding garlic and pepper, and drain it (if necessary).
• Then I dump it in the crock pot.
• I add the soup and the almost full can of water and mix it.
• I add my chili powder, pepper, and garlic now, stir it, and taste it. If I don't think it's spicy enough, I add more. I suggest using small amounts if you don't know how to guesstimate to your liking.
• Then, I drain the beans and the mushrooms and add those.
• I dump the tomatoes in, but I don't drain them, usually.
• I put the lid on the crock pot, and turn it on low.

When it's hot, dish it up and enjoy! It's also good with a dollop of sour cream and some shredded cheese. Or crackers, but we don't generally have crackers on hand.

I love having garbanzo beans in my chili. They add a fun texture (as in, I'm super odd and I like to eat them individually and bite them in half before actually chewing them... and I have no idea why).

This chili freezes pretty nicely. I think I made it five times last winter.

"Experimental Soup" (My husband says it's like Borscht...)

This recipe is all Nik. Yup, it's mine. (And that photo is the leftovers after being in the fridge. It tastes much better than the photo would lead you to believe...)

On Facebook, I made a quip about my husband being so awesome that he was about to get lucky with supper, as I was making him some "experimental soup."

What does that mean, exactly? It means I had no set plan and I was just going to experiment with what I had in the kitchen and hope for the best (which, when it comes to making soup, I must say, usually ends pretty well).

Much to my delight (and possibly Jake's relief), it was fantastic soup! In fact, when I had told my cousin about it via text message, she thought it sounded superb (I could have done a pun there, or a play on words, or whatever... you know.. "souperb" or "souper" (and I did it anyway...)) and she wanted to have some the next day for lunch.

Well, she loved it. And took extras for later.

I had some more last night, because it was stored perfectly well and was STILL tasty. Yum!

I decided I would share my "experimental soup" recipe (if it can be called that(I thought about calling it something else, like Nik's Borscht, but I think that the title I gave it originally is funny, as questionable as it may sound)). It's not exact measurements, so I hope you're not a person who hates that sort of cooking.

Here goes...

Experimental Soup:

1 can condensed tomato soup

6 c. chicken broth (I made mine from bouillon cubes)

1-2 large chicken breasts, diced and cooked (and seasoned with pepper and garlic and Mrs. Dash if you're me)

1 large zucchini, peeled (if you wish), sliced, and steamed

1 can whole potatoes (or five small ones), cut into cubes

1 can/cup cooked asparagus

1 cup cubed, cooked sweet potatoes

1 can whole kernel corn

2-4 cups cooked pasta of your choice (I used a random bag of multi-colored and multi-shaped stuff I found in the cupboard and just dumped some in a pan and cooked it)

1 can diced tomatoes (or a few tomatoes you diced on your own)

minced garlic to taste (I added a lot)

cayenne pepper to taste (I added a fair amount)

Italian seasoning to taste (I added a little)

• Dice and cook the chicken.
• Throw it (nicely) in the crock pot.
• Add the tomato soup and chicken broth.
• Prepare noodles (cook to your desire, mine were a bit over-done but it didn't much matter) and pour gently into the crock pot.
• Prepare vegetables (whether fresh or in the can (as in drain)) and dump (slowly, so as to not splash) in the crock pot.
• Stir.
• Add seasonings of your choice, or of my suggestion.
• Stir again. Taste.
• Cook until it's hot and serve.

If I had them on hand, I probably would have added carrots and celery too. But, I didn't. Like I said, this was a smorgasbord soup of random kitchen ingredients.

:)

Birthday Cake Rice Crispy Treats

Credit goes to How Sweet it Is.

For Spencer's first birthday this year, he had... wait for it.... 4 parties. Yeah, I know. But, there was a reason to each. The first was at daycare on his birthday. The second wasn't "really" a party, and it was on his birthday, with his uncle, his BFF, and my cousin. The third was the day after his birthday, with his dad, his uncle, and his BFF (because his dad had to work all day on his actual birthday). The fourth was the Sunday following his birthday, with a lot of his family and friends.

Anyway, I didn't want to "over-birthday-cake" the poor little guy, so he had a birthday muffin, a birthday cookie, birthday cake rice crispy treat, and birthday cupcakes (in that order).

These were delicious. So, I'll share.

Birthday Cake Rice Crispy Bars:

3 T. butter

10 oz. mini marshmallows (one bag, generally)

1/4 c. yellow cake mix (I used nearly 1/3 cup)

6 c. crispy rice cereal

sprinkles (as many as you want, really)

• Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat and add marshmallows.

• Stir them until they melt.

• Add cake mix gradually, stirring to combine it.

• Stir in cereal and some sprinkles (or dump the marshmallow mix over cereal in a separate bowl) until it's all gooey and sticky and completely mixed. Try not to eat it all in the process (I tried to eat some, and uh, it's still really hot...).

• Press into a baking dish (I used a 9x13 inch pan, I believe) and top with more sprinkles!

• Let sit about half an hour before cutting.

• Eat away. But try to share. That's the nice thing to do.

Red Velvet Brownies with White Chocolate Buttercream

Greetings!

I know, I know, yet another recipe and cooking blog. It's true, there's a bajillion out there.

I can't claim to be a culinary master. Sometimes, I screw up recipes. Not often, but it's been done. (Ask my best friend, Michelle, about our high school cooking days. We once made "butter soup" instead of eclairs, and a giant, watery, sugar cookie, for example.) I don't create a lot of my own recipes. I often don't measure spices, flavorings, or add-ins and just dump until I think it looks or tastes good. But, I do occasionally find myself wanting to cook or bake. I often tell the world about about on Facebook, and people sometimes ask me for recipes. So... here they will be. Recipes others have created and a few "recipes" that I create myself.

I will give credit when credit is due, to the best of my capabilities.

If photos happen to be included, they'll be my own. Please don't take them.

Enjoy!

-Nik

Credit goes to How Sweet it Is.

I found this recipe on pinterest. I will admit, I am addicted to pinterest, especially because it works SO well to organize recipes (I am a visual person, so I love being able to see a picture of the food and my comment under it).

I jumped at the chance to create them. In fact, I text my husband who was out and about in town and asked him to purchase what supplies I didn't already have. He's a dear and obliged me.

Red Velvet Brownies:

1/2 c. butter (room temperature)
1 1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/4 c. flour

1/4 tsp. salt

3 T. cocoa powder

2 T. red food coloring (if you want them red, otherwise, it's unnecessary (*and I didn't use the full amount when I did it)

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees (Fahrenheit, because I'm in the USA and have no idea what that would be in Celsius).

• Butter and flour an 8x8 inch pan. I didn't have a baking pan, so I used a glass casserole dish, and it worked out just fine.

• In a medium-ish sized bowl, combine the cocoa powder, food coloring, and vanilla to make a paste. (Mine was more... chunky and not all wet than a paste, and I am not certain that you need to do this at all, actually... so if you don't, just add them all separately at the end.)

• In a mixer (or another bowl with a hand mixer, that's what I did) cream the butter with the sugar until fluffy (that's such a funny visual, I imagine it to be fuzzy and standing straight up, but you know what it means, I think). Add eggs and the remaining vanilla.

• On medium speed, add the colored paste.

• Beat until completely red (or just mixed, if you aren't using the food coloring).

• Add the flour and salt.

• Bake 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool. You'll burn your mouth otherwise, and not be able to fully enjoy their deliciousness later.

White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting:

1 stick butter (room temperature)

2 1/2 c. powdered sugar

1-2 T. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

4 oz. whilte chocolate (melted, I used... Godiva, or Lindt, I forget, in bar form)

• Cream butter until fluffy. Add vanilla.

• Slowly add 1/2 c. powdered sugar, on low speed.

• Add melted chocolate and beat until completely mixed.

• Add 1 tsp. milk at a time, and mix until desired consistency.

Unless you want an extremely generous amount of frosting on your cooled brownies, you'll have extra. Store it in the fridge for later!

I ended up making the brownies twice, because they were so tasty. I was out of red coloring the second time, so I used blue. They looked green. They were tasty, still, but... funky looking.