Crispy Chicken with Creamy Italian Sauce and Bowtie Pasta

Easy and delicious!

After one successful attempt from a recipe found on Pinterest - I thought I would try again!

And another winner! This dish was really easy to make and it tasted great! There were a few ingredients - but pretty inexpensive as well.

Crispy Chicken with Creamy Italian Sauce and Bowtie Pasta 
recipe from Jamie Cooks It Up!

3 large chicken breasts

5 cups Panko Bread Crumbs

3/4 cup flour

1/2 t salt

1/2 cup milk

6 Tbsp olive oil 

1 package (12 oz) bowtie noodles (farfalle)

Sauce:

1 container (10 oz) Philadelphia Cooking Cream (Italian Cheese and Herb Flavor)

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup milk

Pour the flour onto a plate - add the 1/2 t salt  and combine. 

Place the milk into a bowl and the Panko onto another plate.  (Loaf pans work well for this)

Place your chicken breasts in a gallon sized Ziploc bag and seal the top. Pound the chicken flat with a meat mallet. 

Take a pair of sharp kitchen scissors and cut each breast in half. 

Dredge the chicken in the flour. Be sure it gets covered on both sides. 

Lay the floured chicken onto a small cookie sheet and slide the sheet into the freezer. Let it hang out there for about 5 minutes. 

Start cooking your pasta while the chicken is in the freezer.

Remove the chicken from the freezer and dredge each piece in the milk and then immediately into the Panko. Again, be sure both sides are covered well. 

Add the olive oil to a hot skillet. 

Carefully lay each chicken piece into the hot oil. Sprinkle with a little bit of salt and pepper. Cook over medium high heat for about 5 minutes or until the underside of each piece is nice and golden brown. Turn the pieces over. If the bottom of the pan is dry add just a bit more olive oil to the side of the pan. Swirl the pan around a bit to let the oil flow to all sides.

Cover the pan and reduce the heat to medium.  Let the chicken cook for about 7 more minutes, being careful not to burn the bottoms. 

When your chicken has been cooked through remove it from the pan and place it on a plate. Cover with tin foil.  

Into the same pan pour your broth. Philly Cooking Creme, Cream of Chicken, and milk. Whisk the sauce around and let it get all warm and bubbly. Should only take about 3 minutes. 

Pour the sauce of the noodles and top with the chicken!

World's Best Mac & Cheese

It is pretty darn good.

My current obsession is Pinterest. If you've never been there - go. 

I've been collecting some recipes on there - and I figured it was time to make one. And this one seemed like a great first - I mean it's supposed to be the WORLD'S best. The information shared on the site was that "it's Kurt Beecher Dammeier's recipe from his 'Pure Flavor' cookbook. People line up for it at Beecher's at the Pike Place Market in Seattle."

The link for the recipe took me to Martha Stewart's page - but I figured I would still try it. Some of the ingredients were vague, so I'll note what I used.


World's Best Mac & Cheese
recipe from Martha Stewart

• Butter or vegetable oil, for baking dish
• 6 ounces penne
• 2 cups Beecher's Flagship Cheese Sauce (recipe below)
• 1 ounce cheddar cheese, grated (1/4 cup)
• 1 ounce Gruyere cheese, grated (1/4 cup)
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
• 
  
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter or oil and 8-inch baking dish; set aside.
• 
  Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Cook penne, according to package direction, but for 2 minutes less than recommended on the package. Rinse pasta in cold water; set aside.
• 
  In a medium bowl, mix together cooked pasta and sauce gently but thoroughly. Pour pasta into prepared baking dish; sprinkle with cheeses and chile powder. Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Beecher's Flagship Cheese Sauce
recipe from Martha Stewart

• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/6 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cups milk
• 7 ounces cheddar cheese, grated 
• 1 ounces pepper jack cheese, grated 
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/4 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 
  
• Melt butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat; whisk in flour. Continue whisking and cooking for 2 minutes.
• 
  Slowly add milk, whisking constantly. Cook, stirring frequently, until sauce has thickened, about 10 minutes. 
• 
  Remove from heat. Add cheeses, salt, chile powder, and garlic powder.
• 
  Stir until cheese has melted and all ingredients are well incorporated, about 3 minutes. Use immediately or refrigerate up to 3 days.To reheat sauce, place in a saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently, until heated through.

Peach Pie

This peach pie is amazing!

With the impending Hurricane Irene back in August - I decided if I was going to be stuck inside, I would at least make something delicious!

I figured a pie was a good option - Googled peach pie and made the first recipe I spotted since it seemed like a good recipe! And it was a winner.

Since I have made crust from scratch before - I decided this time I could skip it - and just used the Pillsbury Pie Crusts. It was less hassle and still delicious.

Peach Pie
recipe from Skip to My Lou

9 peaches – peeled and thinly sliced (my peaches were large, so I  used 6)
1 ½ cups sugar
8 dashes cinnamon
5 dashes nutmeg
1 dash salt
1 tsp. vanilla3 Tbsp. flour
4 Tbsp butter



Preheat oven to 400. 

Fold all ingredients except butter together. Then pour into 9" pie pan.

Cut 2 Tbsp of butter into small pieces and place on top of the filling.

Place 2nd pie crust on top of the filling and crimp edges firmly (it will ooze out if there are openings). Also add steam slits to the top.

Cut 2 Tbsp of butter into small pieces and place on top of the crust. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.

Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees. Then turn down the oven to 350 and bake for another 30-40 minutes, until golden.

My suggestion is to make sure you have some ice cream to go with this!

Balsamic Steak

Balsamic vinegar is my new favorite thing.

I loved the balsamic vinegar from the Pasta Fresca recipe - and I figured that it would be delicious on steak too.

And boy was I right.

I mixed together a few things - and voila - an amazing dinner.

My roommate and I had gone to a farmer's market a few days before - so I also made some corn on the cob with my steak!

Balsamic Steak
recipe from Wearing Pearls While Baking

Balsamic vinegar
Juice from 1 lemon
Minced garlic
Steak of choice
Olive oil

Add balsamic vinegar to a mixing bowl (I didn't measure - just poured enough for the meat I had).

Add the lemon juice and minced garlic to the vinegar, and stir.

Add the steak to the bowl and mixed until it had all been coated. (I had wanted flank steak but the store didn't have any. I got an angus steak - stir fry sliced).

Warm a saute pan - and add a small amount of olive oil. Once heated, add the steak and vinegar mixture. Cook steak as desired.

Cake Decorating Class - Level 3

After completing Level 2 - I HAD to take Level 3 - Gum Paste and Fondant.

As the name states - we learned a lot about fondant. We also continued to make make flowers.

I went into the class not being a fan of fondant - but it was a lot easier to make flowers with fondant than with icing - so that was definitely a plus.

Here are my projects from Level 3:

Carnation, Rose, and Calla Lily

Mum and Daisy

Fondant base, Final cake, and Fondant Bow

Happy Birthday, America! Final Cake - Fondant

Cake Decorating Class - Level 2

I had such a fun time with Level 1 - that I had to sign up for Level 2.

I took Level 2 in May - the class was Flowers and Cake Design.

In this level - we learned about working with Royal Icing and we made A LOT of flowers!

Here is what I made:

Pansy and Button Flower

Rosebud, Primrose, Apple Blossom, and Roses

Violet, Daffodil, and Lily

Final exam -Daffodils and Piped Swirls

Basketweave!

Cake Decorating Class - Level 1

What fun!

I had told my roommate back in 2010 that I wanted to take a cake decorating class. It was something new and different - and I thought it would be a lot of fun. I learned that AC Moore offered a class, and I planned to take it sometime in 2011.

For christmas - she got me a gift card for AC Moore - which was perfect, since now I had to take the class, and couldn't procrastinate.

So, in April, I signed up for Level 1. My instructor was incredibly nice and talented. In Level 1 - we learned all about icing cakes, buttercream icing, and making flowers!

Here are some of the things we made:

piping gel transfer - fishy!

rosettes on a cupcake

shaggy mum on a cupcake

final cake - iced, lettering, and roses

close-up of the roses

Pasta Fresca

Yikes - I forgot to take a picture again! Trust me - this is delicious!

I had the Pasta Fresca at Noodles and Co. - and it was amazing! I searched online to see if there was a recipe for it.

Every recipe I found had large portions - so I took the basics from Enzler Recipes and made it work for me!

Pasta Fresca
recipe from Enzler Recipes

Fresca Sauce:
Garlic powder
Salt
Balsamic vinegar
Sweet white wine
Olive oil
Penne pasta
Feta cheese
Baby spinach leaves

Cook penne pasta as directed until al dente. Cook the amount needed for your serving size.

While pasta is cooking, make the fresca sauce. I didn't give amounts, since I didn't measure anything. I mixed together the ingredients and was satisfied when I had a good amount of sauce and it had a good flavor.

When the pasta is done - add olive oil to a saute pan and then sear the noodles until steaming hot.

Next, add the fresca sauce and spinach. Toss to combine.

Serve with feta cheese.

Filet Tips with Penne Pasta in Lime Tequila Sauce

I won't lie - I was so excited to eat this recipe, I forgot to take a picture before eating it.

This is one of my favorite meals to get at the Great American Restuarant - Mike's, and I figured I'd search for a recipe based from this. I found one on A Lil'Welsh Rarebit.   It was a pretty good meal - but didn't taste like the meal from Mikes. Oh well.

Filet Tips with Penne Pasta in Lime Tequila Sauce
recipe from A Lil'Welsh Rarebit

Tequila Lime Sauce
1/2 cup silver tequila (gold can work too)
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (about 2 large limes)
6-8 sliced shallots
1/2 of a red bell pepper, thinly sliced into strips
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
3 turns freshly ground black pepper
1 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted room temperature butter

The sauce will be the first part of the recipe you make.

Combine the tequila, lime juice, shallots, bell pepper, garlic, cilantro, salt, sugar and pepper in a saute pan over high heat and bring to a boil.

Reduce by half.

Stir in the cream and simmer for 3 minutes.

Whisk in the butter and remove from the heat. Continue whisking until all of the butter is incorporated.

After cooking, let the sauce rest for half an hour before pouring over pasta/meat.

Penne pasta
Boil until al dente.

Filet tips
I used Ribeye to save some $. And since I don't have a grill - I simply sauteed them on the stovetop. But grilling would the better option.

 After all parts are cooked, combine steak, pasta and tequila lime sauce in saute pan. Stir until heated. 

Strawberry Crostata

Major fail.

I don't know what happened with this recipe - it was really simple and easy - but my attempt appeared nothing like the picture I saw and didn't taste anything like it either.

I didn't even take a picture of it - since I was so embarrassed!  I'm posting a picture from Buns In My Oven - since her version looks amazing!

See - how fabulous is that?!


Strawberry Crostata
recipe from Buns In My Oven

1 1/2 pounds strawberries
2 tablespoons sugar, for sprinkling (or more, to taste)
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 pie crust, store bough or homemade

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Hull and slice 1 1/2 pounds of ripe, juicy strawberries. Sprinkle them with two tablespoons of sugar

Take the 8 ounces of softened cream cheese and mix it up with 2 tablespoons of flour, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and 1 tablespoon of vanilla.

Now, you can either make a pie crust or use a store bought version.I grabbed Pillsbury Pie Crust, since there was no need to make my own pie crust today!

Lay the pie crust flat on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Using an off-set spatula, spread the cream cheese mixture all over the pie crust leaving a one inch border around the edges.

Pile your strawberries on top.

Devil's Food Cupcakes

Happy Birthday Cupcakes!

Another fabulous find from foodgawker! I had my eye out to find a recipe for extra chocolately cupcakes for my boyfriend's birthday.
This recipe seemed like a winner - and it was!

My only downfall was it was my first time adding a filling to cupcakes - and I definitely need some more practice. Some cupcakes came out with no filling, while others had a little smidgen. Even without the filling - they were still amazing!

Devil's Food Cupcakes
recipe from Kitchen Wench

Cupcake Ingredients
4oz good quality dark chocolate,
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 1/2 tsp baking soda
4 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 stick unsalted butter, diced and at room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

Using a double boiler (or alternate method) mix the chocolate, vanilla, cocoa powder and buttermilk until the chocolate is completely melted and incorporated. Set aside for now.

Cream together the butter and sugar, then add the eggs one at a time, making sure you beat well after each addition.

Once the mixture is fluffy and pale golden, beat in the chocolate mixture and the flour till everything has been evenly mixed in and the mixture as the texture of barely whipped cream (the mixture should be light, thick and liquid without being completely watery).

Fill your cupcake cases 1/3 full and bake for about 15 minutes.

The cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container for 3-4 days. They should be filled the day they will be served.

Creme Filling
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp sugar

To make the filling, beat the cream with the vanilla and sugar till you have soft peaks.

Fill a piping bag with a filling tip (such as Wilton #230), push the tip right to the bottom of the cupcake and slowly fill the cupcake while pulling the tip up.

You’ll feel the pressure push against the piping tip as you go. Be careful not to overfill, as the cupcake will break up. (I was so nervous about this step, I didn't apply enough pressure!)


Chocolate Buttercream
2 sticks of unsalted butter
2 oz dark chocolate, melted
3 tbsp cocoa powder
6 tbsp milk
6-8 cups powedered sugar

Melt the chocolate till smooth, then mix it together with the cocoa powder and milk till it forms a smooth paste.

Beat the butter till light and fluffy, then add the chocolate paste and 2 cups of icing sugar and beat at high speed till it is well mixed in and fluffy again.

Add the powedered sugar, 1 cup at a time, and make sure that you beat the icing at high speed for 5 minutes after each addition. The more powdered sugar, the thicker the icing will be.

Honey Lemon Chicken

I love a crockpot recipe.

Have I mentioned that I'm obsessed with foodgawker?! I like to check it out on my lunch breaks and find new recipes.

This one seemed like a winner - honey, lemons, chicken - and the ease of a crockpot?! Sign me up!

I cooked this on a Sunday afternoon. Luckily, my boyfriend came down to visit that night - since I realized I had NO idea how to carve a chicken! He, however, did an amazing job!


Honey Lemon Chicken
recipe from Cook Eat Love
1 whole chicken
handful of fresh thyme leaves 
a couple of sprigs of fresh rosemary
Rinse and dry the chicken.  Then, rub the chicken with olive oil and season with sea salt and fresh pepper.  

Place half an onion inside the cavity of the chicken as well as half a lemon and 6 garlic cloves whole.

Cut up an onion on the thicker side as well as  one lemon. 

Take a whole head of garlic and remove the skin but leave the garlic whole.  Get a handful of fresh thyme and rosemary. 

Put the sliced onion on the bottom of the crock pot.  Add the chicken to the crock pot breast side up.  Sprinkle the chicken with the thyme .  Cover the chicken with more onion slices, lemon slices and garlic.  Finally, pour 1/4 cup of honey all over the top of the chicken and 1/4 of chicken stock to the bottom of the crock pot. 

Cook on high for 1 hour then turn to low for 4-5 more hours.  When there is one hour of cooking left add rosemary to the crock pot-just throw it in there.
1 1/2 lemons
2 heads of garlic peeled and and separated into cloves
2 medium onions
sea salt
fresh pepper
1/4 cup of honey
1/4 cup of chicken stock

Lemon Orzo Salad with Tomatoes

Yum-o!

Another delicious find from food gawker. I'm pretty much obsessed with this website. I made a Lemon Orzo Salad with Tomatoes. Pretty much my roommate only used the tomatoes, and I realized I still don't like tomatoes!

I made some modifications from the recipe I found. First, I used feta cheese instead of parmesan. Secondly, I didn't add asparagus.  And lastly, the dressing for the salad was not enough for me. After I mixed it together and gave it a taste, I couldn't really taste it - so I ended up doubling it. Perfect! The recipe listed below shows my doubled version of the dressing items.

Lemon Orzo Salad with Tomatoes
recipe from A Big Mouthful

12 oz. orzo
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
2 lemons, zested and juiced
6 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
2 clove garlic, minced
4 Tbs. fresh parsley, minced
Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper
Feta Cheese

Cook the orzo as directed to al dente. Drain and place in a large bowl. 

Add tomato halves to the orzo.

Mix olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper in a small bowl.  Stir into orzo and vegetables.  Stir in parsley and feta cheese.

This can be served warm, room temperature or cold.

Cake Balls

Adorable!

I made these for a bake sale at work - for the MS Walk. I've heard a lot about these and they seem to be popping up everywhere. These came out delicious -- but seemed like a pain to make. I recommend having a baking buddy to help with these.

I didn't get a recipe from any one website. I looked up a bunch of recipes and morphed the directions to find a version that worked for me. The site that most people will reference to though is Bakerella.

I also learned that you can pretty much mix any cake mix and icing flavor that you want. I mixed Yellow Cake Mix with Chocolate icing - but it turned the mixture brown because of the icing. If I do make these again, I would use a white icing so it doesn't change the cake color.

Cake Balls
from from multiple sources

1 box cake mix (and needed ingredients to make)
1 container icing (16oz)
1 package candy melts
decorations, as desired

Bake the cake as directed on the box in a 9x13 pan. Let the cake cool completely.

Take the cake and crumble into fine pieces into a mixing bowl. It works best to break off a section, and then break that in half. The rub these pieces together -- the cake will crumble easily. I also removed the top crust, since it was a different texture and color.

Take about 3/4 of the icing and put into the mixing bowl with the cake crumbs - and mix. It helps to use the back of a spoon to help these two mix together. You can also use your hands.

Once the mixture is thoroughly mixed, roll into balls. I used a cookie scoop to get the balls the same size and then I rolled the scoop to make sure it was round. Line up the balls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Put the cookie sheet into the fridge for 30 minutes to help them form.

Once the balls are chilled, take them out of the fridge. Melt the candies as directed (double broiler, microwave, stove top) and roll the balls in the melted candy. I used a spoon to help it be completely covered. Place on wax covered paper and decorate with sprinkles before the chocolate hardens.

Put the balls back in the fridge until firm.

Hot Bacon Cheese Dip

De-lish.

This treat also seemed delicious for the girly weekend, and IT WAS! This recipe was so easy to make, and such a great item to have!

Hot Bacon Cheese Spread

recipe from Buns In My Oven

1 unsliced round loaf bread
2 cups (8 ounces) Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1 cup (4 ounces) Parmesan cheese, shredded
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup finely diced onion
7 bacon strips, diced and fried
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp crushed red chile flakes

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Slice the top quarter off the loaf of bread and set aside. Carefully hollow out the inside, leaving a 1 inch shell. Cube removed bread and set aside for dipping.

Combine remaining ingredients in a large bow, spoon into bread bowl. Place on an ungreased baking sheet and cover with the reserved top quarter of the loaf to prevent the dip from becoming to brown while baking.

Bake for 45 minutes or until heated through.

Serve with bread cubes and crackers.

Pink Champagne Cupcakes

Girly treat!

Once I found this recipe, I knew I was going to have to make it sometime, and I was hoping it would be soon!

We ended up having a girls weekend this weekend -- and so it was the perfect excuse to make this cute cupcakes!

The recipe was really easy, and the final outcome was delicious! There were a lot of compliments on the treat!

Pink Champagne Cupcakes
recipe from Renee Julia


Pink Champagne Cupcakes

1 box of white cake mix
1 ¼ cups of champagne or sparkling wine
1/3 cup of vegetable oil
3 egg whites or 2 whole eggs with yolk
A touch of pink cake frosting coloring or food coloring

Preheat your oven to 350°F and prepare baking cups in a muffin pan that holds 24 muffins.

Crack 3 eggs and separate the egg whites from the yolk. Keep the egg whites handy in a bowl.

Mix together with an electric mixer the 1 ¼ cups of pink champagne (or sparkling pink wine) along with the cake mix until smooth. Add in the oil, 3 egg whites, and a just a tiny bit of the cake frosting color (I used food coloring).

Beat with electric mixer at medium speed in a large mixing bowl for about three or four minutes until creamy. Pour batter into the cupcake liners about 2/3 of the way full.

Place in oven and bake for 17 minutes or until toothpick or knife inserted in center comes out clean.

When done, allow pan to cool for 5 minutes and then remove and place cupcakes onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely for about 30-40 minutes.

Pink Champagne Frosting

½  cup of soft margarine
4  cups confectioner’s sugar
¼  cup champagne
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
A touch of pink cake frosting coloring or food coloring

To prepare the frosting while the cupcakes are cooling, beat together 4 cups of confectioner’s sugar, one stick of margarine, and ¼ cup of pink champagne (or sparkling pink wine), and a touch of the cake frosting color/food coloring with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. Then increase the speed to high for 3 more minutes—this makes it extra fluffy.

Use a star tip, a knife, or another tip of your choice to frost the cupcakes. Decorate with sprinkles or pearls.

Cast Iron Skillet Pizza

Pizza Sunday!

While randomly looking on foodgawker again, I stumbled across a recipe for pizza in a cast iron skillet. I don't own one, but luckily a friend does and let me borrow it to try another recipe!

The pizza dough was surprisingly easy to make and roll. The final result was okay, I think I cooked the pizza for too long though.

Also, I did not take the time to make the sauce from scratch. I just used Ragu pizza sauce. But, the site where I got the recipe did include a recipe for sauce.

Cast Iron Skillet Pizza

recipe from Macheesmo

Crust:
-2 1/2 Cups bread flour
-1 scant Tablespoon sugar
-2 Teaspoons kosher salt
-3/4 Teaspoon active dry yeast
-1 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil
-1 scant Cup warm water

Sauce:
-Ragu Homemade Pizza Sauce

Toppings:
-8-10 ounces mozzarella cheese
-Italian Seasoning

For the dough, mix together water, sugar, salt, and yeast in a bowl.  Stir it together and let it sit for a few minutes until yeast is dissolved and foaming a bit.  Then add in your flour and stir it together.

Use a hand dipped in water to vigorously work the dough into a ball.

As you work the dough, you might notice that it’s too wet or too dry.  If it is too dry, add a few extra tablespoons of water.  The dough should be pretty moist and flexible.  If it seems firm, let it rest and relax for five minutes, then continue to work it.

After about 8 minutes of kneading it, you should have a very soft ball of dough  

Coat the dough well in olive oil and place it in a plastic bag.  If you’re using the dough the same day, let it rise for an hour at room temperature, then take it out and de-gas it.  Reshape it and store it in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Then take it out of the fridge at least an hour before you need it.

When ready for the pizza, roll the dough into a large circle and just plop it in the center of your skillet.  You don’t need to oil the skillet or anything.  

Once the dough is in your skillet, use a knife to cut off any extra dough, leaving about an inch of dough up the side of the skillet  Then use your fingers to kind of just fold the dough over itself, forming a crust.

Add a light coating of sauce to the pizza.  Then add on the cheese and Italian seasonings.

Place the skillet on a burner and turn the heat to HIGH and cook for 3 minutes. This won't cook the pizza, but will heat the skillet.

Then move the skillet to a 450 degree oven and continue to cook it until the crust is browned and the cheese melted.  I cooked the pizza for 15 minutes.

When your pizza comes out of the oven, you should be able to get a spatula and just slide the pizza right out of the pan! Let it cool for a few moments and cool.

Slow Cooker Mac & Cheese

Easy Peasy Mac & Cheese!

My coworker told me about this awesome site -- foodgawker.com -- where you can see tons of pictures of food and then click on them to get the recipe. I found a recipe for a slow cooker mac & cheese and it seemed like a good recipe to try.

The site I found it on gave it an 8 out of 10. While it was pretty good, an 8 seems high. However, it was really easy since it was in the slow cooker!

Slow-Baked Mac & Cheese
recipe from A Whisk and A Prayer

1 1/2 cups milk

1 can (12oz) evaporated milk

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled to room temp

3 large eggs

1/2 tsp salt

3 cups (12 oz) shredded cheese (I used an Italian blend)

1/2 pound elbow macaroni or mini penne tubes, par cooked and drained (this means cook them for about five minutes until tender but not completely cooked)

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook the elbow noodles for 5 minutes. Drain.

Spray the inside of the slow-cooker with cooking spray or grease it with olive oil.

Combine milk, evaporated milk, eggs, butter, and salt in slow-cooker and whisk until until smooth (or you can use an immersion blender to do the whisking for you).

Add the shredded cheese and macaroni, sprinkle with black pepper (and whatever other spices you want to use). Stir gently with a spatula to coat evenly.

Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top.

Cover and cook on HIGH for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, reduce the temperature to LOW and cook for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, until custard is set in the center and the pasta is tender. The macaroni and cheese may sit in the cooker on the KEEP WARM setting for 30 minutes before serving. Before dishing it up, sauté some bread crumbs with olive oil and sprinkled them over the top. (I didn't have time to sauté the breadcrumbs, so I just sprinkled them on top).

Chocolate Lovers Cupcakes

Yum!!!

I found this recipe awhile ago on Baked Perfection and have waited until Valentines Day to make them. These cupcakes are super delicious and super chocolatey! The cupcakes and icing didn't take much effort -- for me the most complicated part was making the chocolate hearts for decoration.

Chocolate Cupcakes
recipe from Baked Perfection

1 package chocolate cake mix
1 package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (dust these in flour to keep them from sinking to the bottom of the cupcake)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs, and water. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour batter into 24 lined muffin cups.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
recipe from Baked Perfection

1/2 cup butter, softened
3 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
6 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 -6 tablespoons milk

Cream the butter on medium speed until it is very light in texture. Add the confectioner's sugar, cocoa powder, melted chocolate, and vanilla extract and mix on a low speed until the sugar and butter are blended, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Increase the speed to medium, with the mixer running, add the milk one tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency.

Chocolate Hearts
recipe from Baked Perfection

1/4 cup white chocolate, melted
1/2 cup semisweet or milk chocolate, melted

Transfer your melted chocolate into a plastic sandwich bag; cut the tip of the corner of the bag. Pipe your chocolate into the shape of a heart (or any other shape) onto wax paper, let harden completely before transferring to cupcakes.