Milestones!

First of all, eeeeeep!

Okay, I'm done :)

8 Cheese Manicotti!

And by Manicotti, I mean stuffed shells! (Manicotti pasta is waaaaayyyy too high maintenance for me!)

A few days ago, I had a hankering for some cheese manicotti! I moseyed my way over to allrecipes.com because, let's be honest, it is the BEST! They even let you save recipes to a recipe box! It's like a classy Pinterest slash original recipe goddess.

I doubled this recipe from the original recipe for lots of leftovers throughout the week! The original recipe had manicotti noodles (shocker right? hahaha), but I prefer those large pasta shells!

I found this awesome recipe. Also, I am too much of a free spirit to follow a recipe exactly how it's listed. Cooking is an art. Do what you think would be most delicious!

The original Manicotti recipe is here. Even though it didn't have thousands of reviews, it had a high enough rating that I decided to risk it. We were not disappointed!

8 Cheese Manicotti (Shells)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Ingredients:

1 box (12 oz box) large pasta shells

2 16 oz jars of spaghetti sauce

1 30 oz part skim ricotta cheese

8 oz Italian cheese blend (This I didn't double. 2 cups was plenty)

1.5 cups grated parmesan cheese

4 eggs

Parsley, salt, and pepper to taste
2 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and cook shells for 5 or 6 minutes. (You want them fairly firm so they won't get soggy after cooking. The box suggest 10-12 minutes. This is overkill.)

2. Drain shells and shock with very cold water. Let cool.

3. In a large bowl, mix together ricotta cheese, Italian cheese blend, parmesan, eggs, parsley, salt, and pepper. 

4. Pour 1 jar of pasta sauce into the bottom of the pan. (I used a large Pyrex glass dish)

5. Spoon cheese mixture (generously!) into shells. Place shells face up in pan.
6. Pour second jar of pasta sauce on top of shells.
7. Top with shredded jack cheese.
8. Cook uncovered in oven for 30 minutes or until cheese and sauce bubbles.

Overall, we will definitely have this dish over and over again! The flavors are amazing, it makes a ton for leftovers (which are better, in my opinion), and is super cheap! I spent about $15 on all ingredients. That's not too bad for a huge pan of multiple meals!

Regrets: The pasta sauce I bought had SO much sugar in it. Of all things in pasta sauce! It had about 6 grams of sugar per half cup. Yuck! I'm definintely paying attention to that next time. I've even tempted to start making my own sauce! I'm going to try this recipe.

Also, I didn't follow the "Most Helpful Positive Review" that I read that suggested adding extra spices to the cheese mixture. Definitely going to try that next time!

Anyway, this is a super simple and delicious meal I think everyone will enjoy!

Here are some unnecessary but fun pictures of the process! :)

Enjoy!




Also, here are some fun tips for allrecipes.com! :)

Because I wanted Manicotti in particular, I typed that in the search. Now, don't just go off of the first recipe you see. I typically choose a recipe by the rating and how many reviews it has. This is key. Just because something looks fantastic doesn't mean it's going to be awesome. (Sometimes I look at the top recipes of all time. Always a fun inspiration!)

HINT: Always browse over the recipe reviews just under the recipe directions.

At the top of the website, there's a handy dandy little search bar! It's so nice because you can search by a particular ingredient or just browse the top recipes. You can also do a super specific search which is super nice!

Thanks for reading! :)

Strawberry and Custard Stuffed Shortcake

Lots of friends have requested this recipe so I wanted to share it with my blogging world!

This cake is so simple. Construction took 15 or 20 minutes tops because of how easy it is!

Ingredients:
1 pound cake, baked (Can be two round pans, but could even be done in a glass or rectangular pan!)
1-2 containers of Cool Whip/Whipping Cream
1 large box of vanilla pudding (Jell-o is my favorite brand!) + Milk (For custard preparation, only add half the milk the box calls for. About 1.5 cups of milk)
1 pound frozen or fresh strawberries chopped and sprinkled with about 4 Tbsp of Sugar

The "shortcake" was actually just a simple pound cake recipe similar to this one: Aunt Johnnie's Pound Cake

To be honest, using a simple white cake or yellow cake will be just perfect for this cake! With all the yummy stuff on it, you won't care too much about the cake part! ;)

Instructions:
1. Make the cake as directed. Let it cool for a few hours or overnight
2. If you made two round pans, put the cake on the plate, slather with all of pudding, 1/2 strawberries, and a layer of cool whip or whipped cream.
3. Place second cake layer on top and cover with cool whip and strawberries.

And you're done! It really is that simple.

Just a few tips: If you bake a cake in a Pyrex or rectangular pan, just layer all toppings on top! I would suggest poking the cake with a straw, pouring the pudding (immediately after mixing with 1/2 the milk  the pudding calls for) onto the cake to soak in and make it extra moist! Don't wait too long because it will custard-ize really quickly! Then layer the cool whip generously, then the strawberries!

Also, if you use fresh strawberries, you can make this a day before you serve it. If you use strawberries, construct the cake just before serving to avoid the strawberries turning purple and funky!

I drizzled the leftover strawberry juice (that the sugar pulled out) on top of the cake! I also cut a heart out of a cross section of the strawberry! (Just cut it vertically!)

I made this for a baby shower! 

Unfortunately, because it was so "stuffed" it slid in transit. 

Oops! It was delicious though!

It ain't pretty, but it was scrumptious!

Christmas Candies Part Three: Peppermint Oreo White Chocolate Truffles

Friends,

I stumbled upon a recipe that called for Oreos and cream cheese. I decided to put my own twist on it and add peppermint to it! (I had some leftover from my peppermint bark).

I didn't follow the recipe AT ALL. I just threw in some cream cheese and Oreos and went to town on it. Big mistake.

To begin with, I used two reams of Oreos and two packages of cream cheese. I ended up using a third ream of Oreo's (although it could have used a fourth for texture!) and still had a sticky paste of a mixture. It looked more like icing than anything. Here's proof!

I added another package of blended Oreos. I attempted to add a bit of powdered sugar to it to thicken it up. No luck. On the bright side, it tasted like Thin Mints!

I ended up chilling the "icing" in the freezer for about an hour. I pulled it out and rolled it into small balls and froze them again. It was quite messy!

I pulled the balls out (I froze them overnight but they were still very mushy, but still worked!) and rolled them around in some white chocolate almond bark.

I popped them in the freezer again and they are DIVINE! My husband and father in law keep sneaking some!

The white chocolate was an afterthought, but it was the only way the balls would be even CLOSE to edible at room temperature.

Here's the "recipe" if you want to try them out!

Peppermint Oreo White Chocolate Truffles

1 8 ounce package of cream cheese (room temperature)
2 reams (about 30 cookies) of Oreos
1/2 cup Peppermint (candy canes) blended into a powder (optional)
1/2 cup powdered sugar (added for texture and thickness, also optional)
White chocolate almond bark

1. In a blender, crush and mix cookies into a powder.
2. In a bowl, mix Oreo powder with peppermint powder and cream cheese. Add powdered sugar if necessary.
3. Chill for 30 minutes to an hour.
4. Roll into small balls.
5. Chill for 1 hour.
6. Melt white chocolate almond bark gradually in microwave, stirring every 30 seconds.
7. With two spoons, roll truffles around in white chocolate.
8. Lay on wax paper and chill.

Christmas Candies Part Two: Peppermint Bark

I have an entire LIST my mom and I created of all the yummy sweets and naughty treats we can make this Christmas! This is going to be a short (haha...not) series of sweets and recipes I will post! There's just something about Christmas and candies that makes me squeal with excitement!

Peppermint Bark! 

There are two versions of this bark made with white and dark chocolates. This is definitely the simplest candy recipe I have! Two ingredients can't be beat!

I used chocolate chips for the dark and almond bark (baker's chocolate) for the white. Any harder chocolate will work with this recipe.

All you need is chocolate and candy canes!

You'll notice there aren't any measurements for this recipe, but I'll give you a rough estimate of what I used:

12 candy canes

4-6 blocks of chocolate

Depending on how you like your bark, the ratio of peppermint to chocolate doesn't really matter. You can't mess this recipe up!

1. Blend up unwrapped candy canes to a fine powder. (I just used my blender!)

2. Melt chocolate gradually in microwave and stirring every 30 seconds.

3. Roll out wax paper.

4. Mix together peppermint powder and chocolate.

5. Spread mixture over wax paper and let cool.

6. Once solid, break into uneven pieces.

While it was cooling, I sprinkled the peppermint powder on top of the chocolate. It adds an extra garnish to the chocolate!

Christmas Candies Part One: Peanut Butter Buckeyes

Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year! Not only is it a time of family, and reflection, and thanksgiving, but also time for...

SWEETS!

I'll show you the step by step guide to Buckeyes!

Recipes yields approximately 50 balls.

1 ½ cups creamy peanut butter

½ cup butter (room temperature)

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups crisp rice cereal [optional]

2 ½ cups sifted* powdered sugar

6 ounces chocolate chips

Toothpicks (for assembly, not to eat! ;) )

*I doubled this recipe. After sifting half of the powdered sugar, I gave up! They turned out fine, so don't worry about sifting! Also, some use 4 cups of sugar, but I used about 2-2.5. I would recommend starting with 2 and adding more to get the crumbling texture you'd like!

Directions:

1. Crush crisp rice cereal into a powder.

2. Beat together butter, peanut butter, and vanilla.

3. Mix in powdered sugar and rice cereal a little at a time. (You may have to use your hands at this point. It gets rather thick!)
4. Mix until a fine crumble starts to form.
5. Roll up into bite size balls. Balls should be firm. If not, chill for 30 minutes.
6. Melt chocolate in microwave. I used chocolate chips. Melt 30 seconds at a time and stir so you don't burn or overheat the chocolate.
7. Roll out wax paper.
8. Poke the ball with a toothpick and roll in chocolate halfway, like in the pictures.
9. Chill and enjoy!

These bad boys are always a hit! For prepping, chilling them may be necessary, but I think they taste better at room temperature. I serve them in little paper wrappers.

Enjoy!

Cha Cha's White Chicken Chili

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Boy do I have something delicious to share with you! Here in Utah, Fall is awesome. It's never long enough, though, so I always have to squeeze in every single pumpkin-halloween-thanksgiving-candy-sweet-spooky-fally thing I know of into the month of October. Luckily, the snow has been kind to us this year (knock on wood!) and hasn't graced us with its presence...yet!

I wanted to share one of my favorite recipes with y'all, but with my added twist.

WARNING: This chili is anything but low calorie! Bathing suit season isn't for another 8 months, so I say go for it! Just kidding! I'm just forewarning you. This stuff is so delicious and highly addictive!

In a later post, I will delve into my love affair with www.allrecipes.com. Seriously, it's a daily website! Thousands upon THOUSANDS of delicious recipes. Type in an ingredient and BOOM you have something fabulous, with 5,874 ratings, and user reviews that have tweaked the recipe to perfection! I love that each recipe is just a basic idea, and the gourmet chefs give advice on how to update it or make it even more scrumptious! Here's just one of the recipes I love, but with my own little twist!


Original recipe can be found here.

Cha Cha's White Chicken Chili

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 or 2 (4 oz) cans chopped green chili peppers

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp ground cayenne pepper

2 (14.5 oz) cans chicken broth

3 cups chopped cooked chicken breast

3 (15 oz) cans white beans (1 can mashed)

1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese

1 block (8 oz) cream cheese (optional)

Sour cream

Fast Cook: 

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Slowly cook and stir the onion until tender. Mix in the garlic, green chile peppers, cumin, oregano and cayenne. Continue to cook and stir the mixture until tender, about 3 minutes. Mix in the chicken broth, chicken and white beans. Simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Slow Cooker:  

Place whole chicken breasts and chicken broth into slow cooker. Cook on high for 2-3 hours, low for 4-5. 

Shred chicken once thoroughly cooked.

Heat oil and cook onion, garlic, pepper, and spices and sauté until tender. Dump onion and spice mixture into slow cooker. (Mash or puree 1 can of beans. Leave two cans whole.) Add beans and cream cheese. Cook low for at least one hour (I leave it for about 2 hours). 

Serve warm with cheese! Lots and lots of cheese and sour cream!

Changes made from the original: 

- I halved the cumin form 2 tsp to just 1. It's very strong, especially in the slow cooker!

- I love green chillies! The original called for 1 can, but I always put 2 cans in any recipe! Sometimes more. It's a nice kick that my tastebuds can handle, so I up the amount to give it more flavor.

- I opted out of the jalapeño peppers. Too much hot for me.

- I mash 1 cans of the white beans for added thickness. It's a smoother, creamier chili. The 2 cans of whole beans still leave it with that chili texture.

- Cream cheese was unheard of in the original recipe! Who can resist that creamy goodness, though? 

- Sour cream, I think, was also added to the slow cooker recipe at one point in time, but it is just fine as an additional topping after cooking.

- I believe I throw in the cheese before serving to give it that stringy, cheesy effect. Cheese as an optional topping may be preferable for guests, though.

- In the past, I've skipped the cayenne and oregano and called it good with the cumin. I didn't have those spices on hand, so I made do with just the cumin. To be honest, I don't think it made a huge difference in the recipe, but then again, I don't love spicy things that much! If you and your husband love the spices, go for it!

Photo credit allrecipes.com

This recipe is so fast and delicious. Let me know if you try it! If you have any changes or suggestions for the recipe, share with us!