Overnight French Toast Casserole

I love gaudy things. I even have a bottle of gold paint that keep on hand to rub accents on picture frames, lamp bases, easels...you name it (a trick my sisters taught me). But when it comes to some things, less is more...like this Overnight French Toast Casserole. I have tried several other Baked French Toast casseroles in the past and none of them have done it for me. Paula Deen's version of baked french toast casserole is decadent and over the top...exactly what I love about her food. But her French Toast Casserole was soggy on bottom and WAY too sweet. It was like eating candy for breakfast. And although I like my sweets...I don't start devouring them until after noon.

This French Toast Casserole is simple and elegant. The best part is that it can be prepared the night before and then just popped in the oven in the morning. Because all those people that told me I would become a morning person when I had kids lied to me. Now I'm just grumpy in the morning AND I have kids to witness it.

                                 Overnight French Toast Casserole Recipe

I used challah bread here which really soaks up the sauce but you could use Texas Toast or brioche.

 Right out of the oven....

It's simple enough that a little drizzle of maple syrup and a little dusting of powdered sugar compliments it perfectly.

Buffalo Chicken Nachos

Redemption. I made a horrible dinner the other night. I mean I would rather eat a shoe horrible. Usually I'm the last person to sit down at the table...grabbing condiments, cutting up food for the little minions, or taking garlic bread out of the oven. So when I sat down and actually took a bite of the dinner that I had not yet even taste tested, I was a little shocked at how blah it was.

I said to John with a plastered smile on my face and sugary inflexion to disguise my disgust, "This dinner is T-E-R-R-I-B-L-E."

John said stalling, "Umm..."

And this is where being known as a man of few words has its benefits. And John, being the smart husband he is, learned ages ago that less is more when expressing your feelings about a not so good meal.

So we that we all sat there and choked down the second worst meal I have ever made. We had already threatened the kids that if they didn't eat we would take away their Wii and hot tub privileges. So what consequences did I get if I didn't eat? No more chocolate? No more Diet Dr. Pepper?

These Buffalo Chicken Nachos were all about proving that I still had it in me to make a meal that made my man happy. We had both been lusting after these nachos ever since we spotted them in a copy of Food Network magazine I bought for our flight to Hawaii. I was planning on waiting until March Madness to try these out but today is National Tortilla Chip Day so it seemed fitting.

And just so you know after I took this picture I piled on way more blue cheese and celery.

Buffalo Chicken Nachos

8 cups Ranch flavored tortilla chips (I used Cool Ranch Doritos)
4 cups cooked chicken shredded
1 1/2 cups Frank's Buffalo Wing sauce
water
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
4 ounces blue cheese crumbles
1 cup chopped celery

Note: All these measurements are approximate. As with any nachos, adjust ingredients to your personal preference.


Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Spread tortilla chips on a rimmed baking sheet or in a shallow dish.


Bring wing sauce and 1/2 cup water to a simmer. Add shredded cooked chicken; heat through. Strain the chicken (reserving the sauce) and spread over ranch-flavored tortilla chips. Top with shredded cheddar.


Bake in the upper third portion of the oven until cheese is melted for about 5-7 minutes. After nachos are baked top with blue cheese, chopped celery and the reserved wing sauce.


Source: Adapted from Food Network Magazine

Cookie Dough Stuffed Cupcakes

I know...I know. I just posted these Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Stuffed Cupcakes but these are kind of like a sister to those. I love those cupcakes but I don't always have time to do all three components from scratch. John brought some cookie dough stuffed cupcakes home from work a couple of times and so I tried to recreate that recipe with some shortcuts using a cake mix but you still get that cookie dough flavor but with gooey chocolate frosting on top. And do I think I have room in my life for two decadent cookie dough cupcakes? Yeeesss, ma'am.

John made sure they were stuffed to capacity. He lifted each cupcake to make sure it passed the weight test and if it was too light he stuffed in more cookie dough.

Cookie Dough Stuffed Cupcakes

Source: recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything; filling from Annie's Eats

Cupcakes:

1 Betty Crocker Supermoist butter recipe yellow cake mix (and ingredients package calls for)

1 container Betty Crocker chocolate frosting or homemade chocolate frosting

For the filling:
4 Tablespoons (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 Tablespoons light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
7 ounces sweetened condensed milk (1/2 a can)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
(optional) 1/4 package of Pillsbury refrigerated cookie dough for cookie garnishes

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Make cupcake batter according to directions. Bake cupcakes according to package directions. Let cool.
2. To make the cookie dough filling, combine the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the flour, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla until incorporated and smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the mixture has firmed up a bit, about a half hour.
3. To fill the cupcakes, cut a cylinder shaped portion out of the center of each cupcake. An apple corer works great for this. I found this a little tricky to get the hole out but then you get to eat what you take out! Fill each hole with a chunk of the chilled cookie dough mixture.
4. Frost cupcakes with chocolate frosting. I like to put the frosting in a plastic storage bag and snip off a nickel sized hole in one of the corners to pipe the frosting on in a cone shape.
5. Garnish with mini chocolate chips and mini chocolate chip cookies (See tip below).
6. To fancy up your cupcakes, garnish with mini chocolate chip cookies. I used 1/4 of a package of refrigerated cookie dough. I placed nickel sized balls of dough on a cookie sheet and baked for 8-9 minutes at 350 degrees.

Tiffany's Soft Caramel Popcorn

I've eaten this caramel corn more times than I can remember. It's soft, gooey, and addicting. This tried and true recipe comes from a family friend, Tiffany Thornton. I don't know if I should thank her or spank her for introducing us to it! I get to enjoy her famous caramel corn often when we go visit my husband's family in Denver. In the Denney family, my sister-in-law Kim is our resident expert at making Tiffany's popcorn. Since it's so gooey, once you grab a handful...your committed. I remember watching a movie with my husband's family and laughing so hard as we glanced at each other and we were all holding up a "claw" (our designated popcorn hand) in the dark.

I made this for my son Austin and his friends who spontaneously threw a "pool" party at our house. I didn't have the heart to tell him that our "pool" is actually just a hot tub. It was a little crowded in there but they didn't care. As soon as I brought it out they all jumped out and said, "Can we have some?"

Kim says that a good heavy saucepan and a high quality rubber spatula really make a difference when making this recipe.

Tiffany's Soft Caramel Popcorn
by Tiffany Thornton

3 bags microwave popcorn, popped
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter (I like to use salted butter since the rest of the popcorn is so sweet)
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Pop popcorn according to package directions and make sure you get rid of any unpopped kernels. Kim prefers the movie theater popcorn but it's good with really any kind of popcorn. This seems like a lot of popcorn but trust me it will get eaten! Place popcorn in a large bowl...larger than you think you will need.

In a large saucepan melt together the butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup. Bring mixture to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, reduce to medium heat and add the can of sweetened condensed milk. With the rubber spatula, stir constantly for 5 minutes scraping the sides and especially the bottom of the pan to
prevent any burning. The longer you cook it the firmer the caramel will be. I like mine a little on the soft side so I like to cook it shy of 5 minutes...around 4 minutes and 30 seconds.

Pour caramel over popcorn and stir until coated. This will take a lot of stirring to get it all incorporated. It's great warm or at room temperature. Feel free to add in M&Ms, nuts, or drizzle it with chocolate. I like it plain and classic. Enjoy!

Chicken A La King

I'm starting to think I have a real problem. I started this Chicken A La King post three weeks ago and never finished it. But it's not just this post...I started reading 4 books and have yet to finish any of them. I love to wash laundry and dry laundry but can never get the folding done. AND I have 5 bottles of shampoo in my shower with an inch of shampoo left in them. Psychoanalyze me. What's my deal? The only thing I can finish is an entire plate of brownies! Do I have adult A.D.D.?

I love having people over for dinner but I started realizing how expensive it was getting every time I ran to the grocery store to get ready for the meal. So I am always trying to come up with easy and inexpensive meals for entertaining. That's the first thing that came to mind when I made this Chicken A La King recipe. It's easy, good, and cheap! Serve it over rice, noodles, toast, or a big fat biscuit like I did!

Chicken A La King Recipe

Quinoa and Black Bean Salad (Vegan)

Food Trends.  Even in the food world there are trends. It seems like everyone now is either vegetarian or vegan and it has me wondering if it's just a trend or is it here to stay? Although I know a lot of people who are vegan for the health benefits and that I absolutely applaud! I'm just not a fan of people who say they are vegan and have no idea what it even means. I get asked all the time for vegan recipes so I thought I would give it a whirl.

My friends have all been cooking with quinoa (definitely a food trend right now) and I've been wanting to try it for a while. I have avoided it because A) I can't pronounce quinoa without butchering it ("KEEN-wa") and B) I didn't know where it was in the grocery store and let's face it...customer service in South Florida is as bad as it gets. From experience I knew I was bound to get an irritated "I don't know" or "never heard of it" answer with a side of attitude from the worker at the grocery store.

But I put my brave face on and went to the grocery store. After looking in the rice aisle and not finding it I asked an associate in the rice aisle if they had it and he said "No". Then I decide to look harder and there it was right in the rice aisle two feet from the associate. Awesome.

I'm a new lover of Quinoa. It's quick, healthy and a great vegan option. This Vegan Quinoa and Black Beans has black beans, corn, lime, and cilantro in it — all of the Mexican flavors that I crave so often. It's a great side or even main course, served hot or cold!

 Here is the Quinoa and Black Bean Salad recipe or just click on one of the photos below.

Angry Birds: The Obsession Continues

                                  

A while ago, the folks at Tablespoon asked me to come up with an Angry Birds recipe. To which my response was, Angry what? Yes, I think I was the last person in the world to know about the Angry Birds game that is taking over the school hallways, subways, and work places of the nation.  If you listen closely while you’re in public you can hear kids and adults sharing their strategies and the echo of grunting pigs throughout the air. IPhones, Androids and Smartphones throughout the world are exploding with the sounds of the game that has addicted us all.

So why can’t we stop playing this game? It could be that it’s a fairly straightforward game that allows us to snack on a bit of entertainment without too much commitment. The premise of the game is simple. Five angry birds are obsessed with protecting their beloved eggs. Evil green pigs dream about and covet the birds’ eggs and eventually steal them. In retaliation, the angry birds slingshot themselves at the structures that the green pigs have built trying to collapse them in hopes of killing the greedy pigs. If you kill all of the pigs with the birds you have been given you get to advance to the next level. Of course, I had to try the game out!

Now you can eat those Angry Birds…and grunting pigs! These Angry Birds Cake Pops took me a while to make and if you have the time great but if not, enjoy looking at mine. I walked around for days with proof of my work; blue dyed hands that made me look like I had been canoodling with a Smurf. They even came out with a Valentine's edition of the Angry Birds game for you to get addicted too.

Just bake a cake according to the package directions. Let is cool, then crumble it until it’s fine.

Mix ¾ of a can of frosting and incorporate until well combined. Roll into your favorite Angry Bird shape and dip in colored candy melts and decorate.

Angry Birds Cake Pops

by The Girl Who Ate Everything

1 Betty Crocker cake mix (and ingredients called for on the box)

1 container vanilla frosting (or your favorite flavor)
candy melts (white, black, red, yellow, green, blue)
lollipop sticks
white chocolate chips or white jumbo sprinkles (for eyes)
black decorating gel or black edible ink pen (for black in eyes)
black licorice
foam block for drying and displaying cake pops

Directions:
1) Bake cake according to package directions. Let cool.
2) Once cake is cooled, crumble cake into a fine mixture using your hands.
3) Pour crumbled cake into a large bowl and mix in 3/4 of a container of vanilla frosting.
4) Mix with a spoon or your hands until thoroughly combined. Roll into desired shape bird.
5) Melt candy melts according to package directions. Dip lollipop sticks in melted candy melts just slightly and push inside the cake ball. This helps secure the stick in the cake ball. Place in the fridge for about 15 minutes to harden.
6) Dip and coat hardened cake balls in candy melts and tap stick against the side of the bowl to shake off the excess. Push lollipop stick into the foam block to dry.
7) Once dry, decorate each bird. I cut yellow candy melts into triangles for the beaks of the birds. I cut orange candy melts for the orange eyebrows or you could use orange sprinkles. Cut the tip off the white chocolate chips so that they are flat and use for the eyes. Cut the black licorice for the wings and feathers of the birds.
8) For the pigs I used some melted green candy melts and made circles for the nose and ears on some parchment paper and let them harden in the fridge. Use the same technique for the top feather of the red bird and blue bird.
9) Use additional melted candy melts as glue to attach beak, eyebrows, eyes, and feathers. *You can use candy ink colors to tint white candy melts to the colors you need.
10) Let dry and enjoy!

Gourmet Chicken Marsala Wrap

In conversations with my friends the book The 5 Love Languages often comes up. The concepts of how we communicate with our spouse and how we like to be loved is very interesting to me. 

The 5 Love Languages are:

Words of Affirmation

Quality Time

Receiving Gifts

Acts of Service

Physical Touch

Some people hate Valentine's Day because it's commercialized. They are entitled to that. But I love it. I don't see anything wrong with a designated day in the year to remember the people you love because sometimes we forget to show it in our everyday lives. But here's the thing...I think often we show love to others how we like to be shown.

For example, my love languages are Words of Affirmation and Quality Time. I might leave my husband a note telling him I appreciate everything he does when really he would love it more if I washed his car and gave him a big fat kiss (I think his languages are Acts of Service and Physical Touch).

What's your Love Language? What's your loved one's Love Language? (I'm convinced all men are Physical Touch :))

If the person you love is Acts of Service, make them this Gourmet Chicken Marsala wrap. It takes less than 15 minutes and has all of the flavors of the classic Chicken Marsala entree. After I made it I thought, "Where has this been all my life?" I think it's a little casual for a Valentine's dinner since it's a handheld food but perfect for a quick lunch. Pair it with a salad and some crusty garlic bread.

Sautee the onions and mushrooms.

Roll all of the yummy flavors up in a tortilla.

Head on over to Tablespoon for the full recipe HERE.

Strawberry Puffcakes

Just in case you missed it yesterday I was over at Sweet Treats and More posting these Strawberry Puffcakes. My husband and I eat chocolate dipped strawberries every year for Valentine's Day and I thought why not try to replicate that in cupcake form. These are chocolate cupcakes topped with a light strawberry frosting then dipped in melted chocolate. Seriously melt in your mouth yummy!

Just make your favorite chocolate cupcakes and then pipe this fresh strawberry frosting. I use the word frosting but it's pretty light and almost like a whipped cream. I like to just use a Ziploc back with the tip cut off to pipe it on. If you pipe as much as I did you may have to double your frosting recipe. :)

 I did pipe a couple of big ones and a couple of smaller ones for my kids.

Melt chocolate chips with a little oil to make it a good consistency and then dip away. It almost looks like a dipped cone from Dairy Queen and come to think of it...it kind of tasted like one.

So pretty. I stuck some sliced strawberries in before chilling them.

Oops...there are a couple of missing cupcakes in the picture below.

Taste-testing casualties.

My husband likes them chilled straight out of the fridge. I prefer mine to sit for about 15 minutes then then strawberry cream is soft and heavenly.

Strawberry Puffcakes

(Printable Recipe)

1 box chocolate cake mix (and eggs and oil package calls for)

Frosting:

½ cup fresh strawberries, hulled

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still slightly cold

3 ½ cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

Chocolate Topping:

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

3 Tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions:

For the Cupcakes:

Line your cupcake pan with cupcake liners and bake cupcakes according to package directions. Let cupcakes cool

For the Frosting:

Place 1/2 cup of strawberries in a food processor or blender and process until pureed into liquid.

Beat butter and salt until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar slowly until combined. It will be dry but be patient...it will come together.

Add vanilla extract, and 4 Tablespoons of pureed strawberries. Mix until just blended.

Frost cooled cupcakes using the tip below.

Chill cupcakes in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to harden the frosting so that they are easier to dip. Sometimes in stick mine in the freezer to speed up the process.

Decorating Tip: An easy way to pipe frosting without using fancy decorating tips is to fill a Ziploc bag with some of the frosting and cut off one of the corners on the bottom of the bag to about the size of a nickel. Begin piping your frosting. I like to make a cone shape.

For the chocolate topping:

Place chocolate chips and oil in a microwave safe boil and microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval, until melted. Let cool slightly before dipping your cupcakes. You don't want to melt the frosting right off!

Carefully dip the chilled cupcakes in the melted chocolate just once. At this point you can garnish with strawberry fans if desired. To make a strawberry fan just cut the stem off then make vertical slices starting from the bottom of the strawberry to the top, but not slicing all the way through. Then "fan" your strawberry and place on the cupcake.

Once dipped, place the cupcakes in the refrigerator so that the chocolate can set up. Your pan of finished cupcakes will weigh about 20 pounds. Just warning you. Consider this your work out for the day.

Serve chilled or pull them out of the fridge for about 15 minutes before serving (that's how I like them).

Shabby Apple Giveaway and guest post at Sweet Treats and More

This giveaway is now closed!

It seem's like the majority of you liked the Cider dress...myself included.

The winner chosen by random.org is
:
Nick and Jessica: "I liked them on Facebook. I love this line. Adorable. I love the cider dress!"

Congrats and email me at cdenney92@yahoo.com for more details.

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I'm guest posting these babies over at my sister-in-law's blog Sweet Treats and More today. They're basically like a chocolate dipped strawberry in cupcake form. I had one for breakfast yesterday.

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Can I start by saying it's been WAY too long since my last giveaway. I thought it would be nice to give yourself something for Valentine's Day this year.

The nice people over at Shabby Apple have offered to give you guys one of the beautiful Shabby Apple Women's Dresses below. They have really elegant and simple dresses that are great for day and night. And because the Shabby people are extra nice they are offering a 10% discount code to everyone. Just use the code "everything10" at checkout.

 For the giveaway: I know I don't usually make you all do anything for giveaways but this time all you have to do to enter this great giveaway is do is "Like" Shabby Apple on Facebook and leave a comment on this post telling me which dress below you would like to win before Saturday, February 12th at 8:00AM EST.

Candied Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

Seriously...bacon in a chocolate chip cookie? But it's not just bacon. It's candied bacon. So it totally goes together, right?

My husband gave me weird looks as I was putting bacon into the cookie dough.

"Umm...WHAT are you doing?"

"Experimenting." I said.

Let's face it...a lot of my experiments have ended up in the trash. So for me to potentially be ruining a whole batch of perfectly good chocolate chip cookies was a little horrifying to him.

But the salty bacon and the sweet chocolate chip cookies were a sinful match made in heaven.

 This candied bacon is a snack all in itself.

I'm posting the recipe over at Tablespoon today so go check it out HERE.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

My ultimate weakness is a chocolate chip cookie. My friend Katie knows this and "pays" me in her famous cookies for things like taking family pictures of them or a ride to the airport. Money never tasted so good. So it didn't surprise me that I fell in love with these cupcakes.

I will warn you that they were a little work since I did it all in one day but the original recipe comes from Annie's Eats and she said she usually splits the steps up over a couple of days. So it's a cupcake with just a hint of cookie dough flavor stuffed with cookie dough (egg-less) and then topped with a frosting that has tastes like well...like a cookie. Valentine's Day is all about indulging so knock yourself out and don't count how many sticks of butter are used in this recipe :)

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Source: Annie's Eats

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:
3 sticks unsalted butter (1 1/2 cups), at room temperature
1½ cups light brown sugar
4 large eggs
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

For the filling:
4 Tablespoons (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 Tablespoons light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
7 ounces sweetened condensed milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

For the frosting:
3 sticks unsalted butter (1 1/2 cups), at room temperature
¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
3½ cups confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons milk
2½ teaspoons vanilla extract

For decoration:
Mini chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350° degrees. Line cupckae pan with 24 liners.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and brown sugar. Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir together to blend. Add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl on low speed, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, mixing each addition just until incorporated. Blend in the vanilla. Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the cookie dough filling, combine the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the flour, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla until incorporated and smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the mixture has firmed up a bit, about a half hour.

To fill the cupcakes, cut a cone-shaped portion out of the center of each cupcake. I found this a little tricky to get the hole out but then you get to eat what you take out! Fill each hole with a chunk of the chilled cookie dough mixture.

To make the frosting, beat together the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until creamy. Mix in the confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Beat in the flour and salt. Mix in the milk and vanilla extract until smooth and well blended.

Frost the filled cupcakes as desired and sprinkle with mini-chocolate chips. My husband thinks they are best served chilled. I think they are way better at room temperature where the frosting just melts in your mouth.

Raspberry Truffle Brownies and 10 Tips for a Romantic Valentine's Dinner

Back in November when I visited General Mills I did a little more than just hang out in the Betty Crocker taste kitchens and eat all of their good food (although I wouldn't mind doing that all day). I actually was there to film a video in the Betty Crocker studios on "Love Foods". Everyone was so nice over there and made me feel as comfortable as possible. But I was terrified which is why I seem so serious because I stop smiling when I'm nervous. And I'm doing this squint thing with my eyes and talking out of the side of my mouth. And I haven't had eyebrows like that since high school but they said it looks better on camera. Or at least that's what they told me after I sneaked into the bathroom and tried rubbing them off (I'm naughty). What an experience!

So with all of those qualifications out of the way, here's the video...

The Bruschetta with Gorgonzola and Honey in the video is here but to see the 10 Tips for a Romantic Dinner and my recipe for Chocolate Turtle Fondue for Two for your Valentine's Day head over to Betty Crocker, Eat Better America, Pillsbury, and Tablespoon. Yes, so ...

Today I'm also over at Tablespoon talking about "Love Foods" sharing these Raspberry Truffle Brownies. My husband and I love chocolate and fruit so this was a winner for us. I recently made over 150 of these for a church event and I used a homemade brownie for half of them and a Betty Crocker mix for the rest and I don't think you could tell the difference between the two.

Raspberry Truffle Brownies

by The Girl Who Ate Everything

1 package Betty Crocker brownies (and oil and egg that the package calls for)

1 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup seedless raspberry jam
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon shortening
raspberries for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. For easy removal line a 9X13 pan with heavy aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Mix brownie mix, eggs, and oil according to brownie directions. Bake brownies according to package directions. Let cool.

Melt 1 cup of the chocolate chips and let cool slightly. In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until fluffy; add the powdered sugar, almond extract, and raspberry jam; mix well.

Stir in the melted chocolate and mix until combined. Spread the filling evenly over the cooled brownies and chill in the refrigerator.

For the glaze, melt remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips and shortening in the microwave in 30 seconds intervals or until melted. Mix well.

Drizzle glaze over chilled brownies with a fork. Keep chilled until serving and then garnish with raspberries.

Sausage Cheese Balls: A Last Minute Super Bowl Appetizer

The big game is tomorrow and I've had these sausage cheese balls from Tablespoon bookmarked ever since I had leftover sausage from these Stuffed Mushrooms. They are super easy and if these aren't "Man Food", I don't know what is.

I realize we all have different reasons for watching the Super Bowl...

A) You really love football.
B) You really love Super Bowl Food.
C) You really love talking your girlfriends about the caveman hollering going on in front of the T.V. and tolerate the first half so you can see Fergie during the halftime show.

Which one are you? I think I'm a little of all three.

Sausage Cheese Balls

Source: Tablespoon

3 cups Original Bisquick® mix or Healthy Start Bisquick® mix

1 pound pork sausage
4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (16 ounces)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves, crushed
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley or 1/2 teaspoon parsley flakes
Barbecue sauce or chili sauce, if desired

Heat oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease bottom and sides of jelly roll pan or use parchment paper.
 
Stir together all ingredients, using hands or spoon. If your mixture is too dry add a little more milk. Shape mixture into 1-inch balls. Place in pan.
 
Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until brown. Immediately remove from pan. Serve warm with sauce for dipping.

Hoagie Dip: Super Bowlicious

Confession. In getting back to reality, I'm up to my eyeballs in laundry and errands and still haven't unpacked my bags. In my defense while I was packing I went for the when in doubt take everything approach. So the first night home from Hawaii John had already gone to bed and I stayed up late catching up on things and finally headed to bed around 1:00am. I couldn't find my toothbrush because I had taken it out of my toiletry bag while I was packing because it kept turning on every time I tried to zip up my bag. I ended up throwing it somewhere in my suitcase where it would'nt buzz.

I didn't want to disturb my husband by turning on the lights trying to find MY toothbrush, instead I grabbed his toothbrush sitting on the counter. Gross I know. But this is the man I kiss so it's not that far off base. Have any of you done that? With Valentine's day around the corner it's got me thinking about what defines love and relationships and if sharing your toothbrush isn't love (or desperation), I don't know what is. But before we jump into Love Week, we're still gearing up for the Super Bowl around here.

I knew the first time I tasted this Hoagie Dip at my friend Kaela's house that it had to be part of my Super Bowl menu this year. To me it tasted just like an Italian sandwich at Subway so I knew John would love it too. We found it best to spread it over sliced hoagies instead of actually dipping it. So you can basically feed you footballs fans subs without the tedious work of making all of the sandwiches. I love this one and it will be added to my keeper list. Just get the meats at your deli counter so you don't have to buy a huge pack of all of the meats.

Hoagie Dip

adapted from Food Network; adapted slightly from Kaela from Clawson Kitchen

1/2 purple onion diced

4 pickled pepperoncini peppers drained and diced
1/2 head iceberg lettuce chopped about the size of nickels
1 large tomato, halved, seeded, and diced
1/4 pound deli-sliced Genoa salami, sliced and diced
1/4 pound deli-sliced ham, sliced and diced
1/4 pound deli-sliced prosciutto, sliced and diced
1/4 pound deli-sliced roast turkey, diced
1/4 pound deli-sliced provolone cheese, sliced and diced
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 10-to-12-inch round loaf of choice, hollowed out
8 hoagie rolls, cut into pieces or halves for spreading dip on
Combine the chopped vegetables, meats and cheese in a large bowl.

In a small bowl mix the mayonnaise, olive oil, vinegar, oregano, and red pepper flakes and stir until everything is all mixed up.
If you are going to serve within an hour, pour the dressing over the meat/veggie mixture and toss until combined. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

If you are NOT eating it soon,  keep all ingredients refrigerated until about an hour before then toss together so that the lettuce does not get soggy.

Carve out the center of the bread loaf to make a bowl and cut the top piece taken out into bite-size pieces. Serve the hoagie dip in the bread bowl, with the extra bread and hoagie rolls to scoop it up.

Spread dip over bread and enjoy!

Meatball Sliders: Super Bowl Food

Whew! After 14 hours of flying, I'm back and sooo excited to be with my kids again. It's was hard leaving paradise but all good things must come to an end.

I was looking for a way to use some meatballs I had left over from my 3-Ingredient Sweet and Sour Meatballs and thought these Meatball Sliders would be perfect Super Bowl food. Meatballs tossed in a little marinara sauce, topped with cheese, and toasted to perfection in the oven. You can even use hot dog buns (I like Martin's) cut in thirds for slider buns which makes this appetizer super affordable.

Meatball Sliders

24 frozen meatballs, thawed
2 cups marinara sauce
8 ounces sliced provolone or mozzarella
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasonings
24 dinner rolls or 8 hot dog buns cut in thirds

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a 9X13 pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.

Warm the meatballs in the marinara sauce in a saucepan over medium heat. Separate the dinner rolls or hot dog buns and place one saucy meatball on the bottom roll. Top with mozzarella or provolone. Place the top roll on and push down slightly. Place meatball slider in the pan and continue to assemble the rest of the sliders.

Microwave butter in a bowl in the microwave until melted. Add garlic powder and Italian seasonings and mix well. Brush tops of buns with melted butter mixture.

Toast in oven for 8-10 minutes or until toasted. I like mine a little more on the soft side...not so toasty.