Restaurant Style Salsa

I got this from The Pioneer Woman. She's amazing and so I trust all she makes. So naturally, I trusted her salsa recipe...also for the simplicity of less chopping. It's made with all canned tomatoes, which I was VERY skeptical of. When it was done, Justin and I tasted it and...it wasn't that good. I was DEVASTATED!! So I sadly wrapped it up and put it in the fridge in hopes that someone somewhere would eat it so it didn't go to waste. About 5 hours later my mom says, "That salsa you made is absolutely delicious!!" I thought she might be mistaken because I definitely didn't like it. The next day I tried it...DELICIOUS!! I guess it gets better as it sits. I'm not kidding - 200 times better than when I first made it! So my suggestion is to make it the night before you want to eat it. That Pioneer Woman...she knows everything. I am DEFINITELY making this again!

1 (28oz) can whole tomatoes with juice
2 (10oz) cans Rotel tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 whole jalapeno diced (I omitted this because I'm super wimpy with spicy food - keep in mind that the Rotel has some heat of it's own)
1/2 t salt
1/4 t garlic salt (my addition)
1/4 t sugar
1/4 t cumin
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 whole lime juice

Dump everything into a food processor. Pulse until desired consistency is reached. Test for seasonings. DONE!! Refrigerate at least several hours.

*From The Pioneer Woman

Layered Enchilada Bake

This is AWESOME! It's such a great twist on an old classic of enchiladas. There is NO enchilada sauce in this recipe. The sauce is created with salsa and taco seasoning. Then you cool it down with some sour cream...so delicious. I'm DEFINITELY making this again...it's a keeper.

1 lb. Lean ground beef

1 large Onion, chopped

2 cups favorite Salsa

1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed

1/4 cup Zesty Italian Dressing

2 T Taco Seasoning Mix

6 Flour tortillas (8 inch)

1 cup sour cream

2 cups shredded cheese - Mexican blend or cheddar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Brown meat with onions in a large skillet on medium-high heat; drain off fat. Stir in salsa, taco seasoning, black beans and Italian dressing.

Arrange 3 tortillas in a single layer on the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Cover layers with half of the meat mixture, then 1/2 cup sour cream, then 1 cup cheese. Repeat layers and then cover.

Bake for 30 minutes, covered, and then 10 minutes uncovered. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.

*From Kraft Recipes

Cheesecake-Filled Chocolate Chip Cookies

I saw these on Sadies Kitchen and knew I wanted to make them. I love cheesecake and chocolate chips. The were HUGE, but didn't disappoint! Just know you're going to share one with like 4 other people! Delicious!

Cookies:
2 1/4 cups flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 t salt

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 large egg

2 T milk

1 t vanilla

2 cups chocolate chips

Cream Cheese Filling

8-oz cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup white chocolate chips or 2-oz white chocolate, melted and cooled

3 T powdered sugar

1 T granulated sugar

1 t vanilla

First, make the cookie dough. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.

In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar and brown sugar until light. Beat in egg, milk and vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed or by hand, blend in the flour mixture, stirring only until no streaks of flour remain. Stir in chocolate chips.

Make the cream cheese filling. Combine all filling ingredients in a medium bowl and mix at medium-high speed until smooth. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (I didn't do this...I actually forgot...but they were fine and came off the pan perfectly.)

Divide dough into two equal parts. Place each on a sheet of wax or parchment paper and shape into a log. Wrap in paper and chill logs for 1-2 hours, until firm. (I just stuck the whole bowl of dough in the fridge without making the logs and just removed globs that I shaped into balls and then flattened and it was fine.)

Remove dough logs from the fridge. Using a sharp knife, divide each log into eight even slices (total of 16 big slices of cookie dough).

Working with one piece of cookie dough at a time, flatten the dough into a 3-4-inch wide dish between your palms. Place about 1 tbsp cream cheese filling in the center of the dough, then pinch the sides of the dough together to seal. Work carefully so all the filling is sealed inside. Place on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 15-18 minutes, until cookies are golden brown around the edges. Cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

*From Sadies Kitchen, originally from Baking Bites

Oreo Cupcakes

These are super good! They are also fun for the kiddos. It's a mix of cupcake, marshmallow and cookies that does NOT disappoint! Next time I think I would add a little more marshmallow cream because when it bubbles up and gets a little toasted and a little chewy and is oh so delicious. The basic cupcake mix is simply AMAZING! If you want you could just bake the cupcakes without putting a whole Oreo in the center - that would be delicious also. They are the perfect cupcake for a party and you bet I'll be serving these at my next one!

1 French Vanilla cake mix
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup oil
4 eggs
1 small box instant vanilla pudding mix
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
5 Oreo cookies, crushed plus 24 whole Oreos for inside cupcakes
1/2 cup marshmallow cream, plus 1/2 cup to layer inside

Cream Cheese Frosting recipe, found here

6 Oreos, crushed for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using your stand mixer, beat the cake mix, water, oil, eggs, pudding mix, cream cheese, 5 crushed oreos and 1/2 Cup Marshmallow cream until well combined, about 1 minute.

Line muffin tin with paper liners and place 1 tablespoon of batter into the bottom of each cup. Layer with an Oreo (pressing down into the batter) then a dollop of marshmallow cream, then 1 more tablespoons of batter. Should be about 3/4 full. Don’t fill more than that or you’ll have a mess in your oven.

3. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until just golden brown and cooked through. Let cool completely. Frost and sprinkle with crushed Oreos.

Makes 24 normal size cupcakes

*Adapted from Picky Palate

Lionhouse Rolls

Oh boy. These could be the death of me! I made a batch for a family dinner and they were wiped CLEAN....not one to spare. I was actually really impressed at how easy they were! In fact, they are so easy I'm making them for our family reunion coming up this weekend. They are the perfect roll to make and then freeze - my kind of roll! So in case you were wondering...perfection.

2 T active-dry yeast
2 cups warm water
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter or shortening (I used butter)
1 egg
2 1/2 t salt
2/3 cup nonfat dry milk
5-6 cups flour

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, (I use my Kitchenaid) combine yeast and water. Let stand 5 minutes or until good and bubbly. Add sugar, shortening, salt, dry milk, 2 cups flour and egg. Beat together until very smooth. Add remaining flour gradually (about 1/2 cup at a time) until a soft but not sticky dough is formed.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured board and knead until it is smooth and satiny ( I actually don't knead the bread for as long as it says to...I never do and it turns out as perfect as ever.) Return dough to an oiled bowl and cover to let rise until doubled. (about 1 1/2 to 2 hours)

Separate dough into three portions. Roll out each portion into a circle and cut with a pizza cutter into 8 pie-shaped pieces (triangles) (or 12 pieces if you want smaller rolls - this is what I did). Roll up crescent-style and place on baking sheet. Cover with saran wrap that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for 12 minutes - until nicely browned.

Makes 2-3 dozen rolls depending on the size you make the rolls.

*From the Lionhouse in Salt Lake City, but I actually got them from Sadies Kitchen.

Chocoflan

Normally you wouldn't see me sporting any sort of flan on my site because I'm definitely not a fan. But my cousin, Annie, made it for a party and it was TO DIE FOR!!! I'm serious! It's amazing. The flan topping isn't so much like flan...I would describe it more like a rich custard topping - more like a crem brule topping. Anyway, when you serve it you drizzle a little more caramel topping over the top and it seems like you're eating a decadent, expensive dessert. You MUST try this!!

1/4 cup caramel sauce

For the cake:
10 T butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 t baking powder
3/4 t baking soda
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups buttermilk

For the flan:
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3 eggs
1 T vanilla


For garnish:
1/4 cup caramel sauce

Directions:
Put an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
Coat a Bundt pan with a little butter, then coat the bottom with 1/4 cup caramel sauce and put it in a large roasting pan. (The roasting pan will serve as a water bath during baking.)


For the cake:

Add the butter and sugar to a bowl and using an electric hand mixer or stand mixer, beat until light and fluffy, then beat in the egg. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa in a medium bowl. Beat 1/3 of the flour mixture, and 1/2 of the buttermilk into the egg mixture. Repeat, ending with the flour mixture. Blend until well incorporated.


For the flan:

In a blender, combine the evaporated milk, condensed milk, cream cheese, eggs and vanilla. Blend on high for 30 seconds.


Scoop the cake batter into the prepared Bundt pan and spreading evenly. Slowly pour the flan mixture over the cake batter. Cover with foil and add about 1-inch of hot water to the roasting pan.


Carefully slide the pan into the oven, and bake 1 hour (I had to bake mine for about 1 hour 30 minutes), until the surface of the cake is firm to the touch, or an inserted toothpick comes out clean. When cake is done, remove from the water bath and cool completely to room temperature, about 1 hour.


Invert a large, rimmed serving platter over the Bundt pan, grasp tightly together, jiggle a little and flip over. Remove the pan and scrape any remaining caramel from the pan onto the cake and serve!


*The batters may appear to mix when you pour them into the pan, but they completely separate while baking, with the flan ending up on the bottom when it's inverted. Traditionally, it is chilled 24 hours before serving, but personally I like eating it at room temperature.


*For the caramel topping, I just use caramel ice cream topping and it's delish!

*From the Food Network

Snickerdoodle. Blondies

I love snickerdoodles. I always have. But it seems like so much trouble to make them! You can't just whip them up in a second and that bugs me. So I found these. They are DELICIOUS!! It's a snickerdoodle in a bar. Dare I say they are better than the actual cookie?? You basically make the dough, put it in a pan and then douse it in cinnamon sugar. They were SO scrumptious that they left us all wishing I would have doubled the recipe...so that would be my only suggestion...DOUBLE IT!!! You will regret it if you don't!

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 t salt
1 egg
1 1/2 t vanilla
1 cup flour
1 T sugar + 1 t ground cinnamon (I doubled this also...you want it good and covered in sugar:))

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil (I just sprayed it with cooking spray...they popped right out after I baked them.)

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in salt, egg and vanilla until well combined. Add in flour and stir until no streaks of dry ingredients remain. Pour dough – it will be thick – into prepared baking dish and smooth it into an even layer.
Stir together remaining 1 tbsp sugar and 1 tsp ground cinnamon. Sprinkle dough evenly with cinnamon sugar mixture.
Bake for about 30 minutes, until bars are set and the edges are just very lightly browned. Cool in the pan before slicing.

*From Baking Bites