Oreo Pudding Cake

Ah...Pinterest. One of the greatest resources for recipes, crafts, decorating ideas and SO MUCH MORE. A friend pinned this recipe and I've made it twice now! It's a great dessert that everyone is sure to love, unless they don't like chocolate...which is insane! ;) It's also SO FUN to make this with your kids. My 3-year-old loves to help me in the kitchen and she's become quite the little baker. I measure the water and oil but let her pour them in the bowl. Then, I let her crack the eggs...I know...risky, but she's actually very good. I hardly ever have to fish out little pieces of the shell! The fun part of this recipe is poking holes in the cake after it comes out of the oven! Let your kids help you! It may be messy but they cherish the time and you will, too!

Oreo Puddin' Poke Cake (from TheCountryCook.net)

Ingredients:

1 Box Chocolate Cake Mix

Ingredients needed to make cake (usually eggs, oil and water)

2 (4 oz.)packages of Instant Oreo pudding

4 cups milk (2% or higher)

Crushed Oreo Cookies (optional)

Directions

Make cake mix according to directions and bake in a well-greased 9x13 pan.

Just before cake is done, start making pudding. In a medium bowl, begin to add milk to pudding mix and continue to whisk until most of the lumps are removed. Let pudding mixture sit for about 2 minutes. You want it to thicken slightly so it isn't runny but not fully thickened into pudding.

When cake is finished, while still warm, poke holes all over cake (about 1-inch) intervals using a wooden spoon handle or a straw. Pour pudding mixture over warm cake.

Allow the cake to cool for several minutes on the counter then put into the fridge to set up. About an hour.

Once it is set, top with crushed Oreo cookies

Mini Meatloaves

Here's a fun twist on the same ol', same ol' Meatloaf recipe. The recipe is actually quite simple, but the meat is baked in a muffin pan instead of a loaf pan! It was so easy and made such a delicious dinner. My 3-year-old loved it because they looked like big meatballs (she LOVES meatballs!). I made it a complete dinner by adding Au Gratin Potatoes, Green Beans and Crescent Rolls. Enjoy!

Mini Meatloaves (from e-mealz.com)

1 lb ground sirloin (could substitute with ground turkey!)

1/2 small onion, finely chopped

2/3 C italian breadcrumbs

1/3 C lemon juice (I did not have a lemon so I left it out)

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese

Mix meat, onion, breadcrumbs, lemon juice and egg in large bowl. Pack mixture evenly into 6 greased cups of muffin tin. Distribute cheese evenly in a mound, over each mini loaf. Bake for 30 min @ 350 degrees, until done.

Bow Tie Lasagna

Here's a good, easy, cheap and quick recipe for your repertoire. I always have pasta on hand and I'm always looking for new ways to use it besides boiling it and adding meat and jarred sauce. This is like lasagna, just de-constructed and you can make it all in your skillet! I also love the idea that you can use fun pasta shapes like bow ties! Use whatever you have! Sounds good, right? Add garlic bread and a salad and you've got a meal to be proud of! Just don't freeze this because it has sour cream in it!

Bowtie Lasagna (from TastyKitchen.com)

1 pound Ground Chuck

5 cups Bow Tie Noodles

3 cups Spaghetti Sauce (or Pizza Sauce, Whatever You Prefer)

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 teaspoon Salt

½ teaspoons Garlic Powder

1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning (or More, Make It To Your Taste)

½ cups Mozzarella Cheese

½ cups Sour Cream

Fry ground chuck in small pan. Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package directions.

After noodles are cooked, drain and drizzle with olive oil. Mix in your spaghetti sauce.

Add your fried hamburger, seasonings, cheese, and sour cream. Fold together and allow it all to combine and melt together, over low heat, for about 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Serve to your family and be prepared to have it disappear before your very eyes.

Braised Roast Beef

Hello all, good to be back in the blogging world. A few months ago I discovered the wonderful world of Pinterest and I've never looked back! I've gotten so many great ideas, not just recipes, but ideas for my home, decorating, kids, and tons more. I love it. It's my go-to site for almost everything now!

Yesterday I had a roast beef dilemma. I wanted to make one with a recipe I had but it was for the crock pot and mine just broke (it cracked!) so I couldn't do that. So, of course I looked on Pinterest for a roast beef recipe. Found this one almost immediately and loved how it sounded and amazingly I had all of the ingredients in my pantry! I used a chuck roast, like the recipe says, but mine was boneless...either way is fine. I served it with scalloped potatoes, green beans and corn. It was gobbled up! And I might add, it made my house smell DIVINE.

Braised Roast Beef -- from "The Bake-Off Flunkie" (the site has pictures, too!)

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 6-oz can tomato paste

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 small onion, diced (about 1 cup)

6 cloves garlic, pressed
1 2-1/2 to 3 lb bone-in chuck roast

1. In a medium bowl (I used a 4-cup glass measuring cup), combine everything except the roast; mix well.

2. Make the foil packet: Tear a large sheet of heavy-duty foil (mine was about 18x18) and put the roast in the center. Bring up the top and bottom edges. ...and fold them over 3 or 4 times. Fold up both sides 3 or 4 times.

Very carefully unfold the top (you will have to unfold all of the folds a few times) and pour in the vinegar-tomato paste mixture. Refold everything and put the packet in a baking dish to catch any leaks (and there will be some leaks).

3. Heat your oven to 325. Bake the roast for 4 hours. Let it rest for 10 minutes before you open the packet.

4. Use tongs to take the meat out of the packet, transferring it to a cutting board or plate, and cover it with foil. The meat will come apart in large pieces when you try to pick it up....oh, yeah...

5. Strain the cooking liquid through a fine sieve (you might have to press it through) to make a sauce. Slightly pull the meat apart with a fork and serve it with the sauce.

Serves 4-6 people.

Ranch Burgers - Craving Fulfilled!

Well I'm pregnant and I have cravings from time to time. One of them lately has been a big, juicy hamburger! I don't care for burgers that often; if I have to choose between a burger and a hot dog, the hot dog always wins. But, the baby wants it so I found a recipe that sounded easy and yummy and went for it. It truly was easy and very quick. I cooked them on my George Foreman grill and they were perfect - but you can use your outdoor grill or even the stove top.

It's important for me to make meals that my whole family loves, so I'll usually tell you what my 2-year-old thinks of what I made. Just to give you an idea, she's been sick with a throat infection for a few days and hasn't wanted to eat anything. She's had next to nothing all day, but tonight, she ate (most) of the burger! I told her it was like a big meatball and I think that's how I sold it..haha. Good luck!

Ranch Burgers (from E-Mealz.com)

(makes 4-6 burgers, depending on how big or small you like them!)

1 lb ground round (or lean ground beef or ground turkey!)

1 packet ranch dressing mix (I used Hidden Valley)

2 T honey dijon mustard (I couldn't find honey dijon so I bought regular dijon and mixed in honey)

1 C mexican shredded cheese

Hamburger Buns

In medium bowl mix together ground meat, dressing mix, mustard & cheese. Shape into 4- 6 patties. Cook on stove or grill until juices run clear & center is no longer pink. Place patties on hamburger bun with desired condiments.

You can serve this with chips or fries and maybe even some cold fruit, like watermelon, if it's summer time.

Hi! And Beef & Broccoli Stir Fry

Wow, so a whole year went by! Well, I'm back and I've got a new recipe for you to try. It was a hit with my family tonight - even my 2-year-old ate it! I think it would be a good meal to make for a crowd - it's easy and delicious.

I got it from E-Mealz. It's a meal subscription web site that's super cheap. You pick the store you shop at, specify how many people you are feeding and sign up for a meal plan. E-Mealz will prepare a 5-day meal plan including ingredients and coupon deals. The best part is that they plan the meals around what's on sale at your grocery store that week. I've been a member for a while now and I mostly like this. I like that it's cheap ($5 a month) and that I'm saving money each week during my grocery shop. The meals we've tried have been really good. Sometimes I'll see a meal and know my family won't eat it, so I'll take some of the ingredients and make something I know we'll like. Check it out and see if it will work for your family!

Beef & Broccoli Stir Fry (from E-Mealz.com)

1 T cornstarch

1 T water

1⁄4 t garlic powder,

zip bag

1⁄2 lb boneless top sirloin steak, cut into 3" strips

1 T vegetable oil

2 c fresh broccoli florets (I used a frozen bag of microwave steam broccoli and added it after I cooked the onions)

1 c onion, cut into wedges

1 T vegetable oil

1⁄3 c soy sauce

2 T brown sugar

1 t ground ginger

1 T cornstarch

1⁄2 c water

1 bag egg noodles (or rice, your choice!)

In zip bag combine cornstarch, water & garlic powder. Add beef. Seal bag and turn to coat. In large skillet or wok over med-high heat, stir fry beef in oil until no longer pink; remove and keep warm. Stir-fry broccoli & onion in oil for 4-5 min & return beef to pan. In small bowl, combine soy sauce, sugar, ginger, cornstarch, and water until smooth; add to pan. Cook and stir for 2 min until thickened. Serve over noodles.

Cook egg noodles according to pkg directions. Season w/ salt to taste.

Oven Ready Lasagne Noodles?!

Such a thing exists?! Actually I knew it did but had completely forgotten until I saw them at Target this week. I hate making lasagne, absolutely hate it. I hate getting out my huge pot that takes 60 years for the water to boil, then waiting for all the noodles to get soft enough to start falling into the pot and boil, then waiting for them to cool so I can touch them...the whole process is very frustrating to me. I know, I'm making it a big deal. But it's enough for me to never make it...and I don't. UNTIL TODAY!

All I had to do was brown my ground beef, add sauce, mix the ricotta cheese with eggs, mozzarella and parmesan and set up the assembly line! It was a cinch and ready in an hour. I served it with a pre-packaged Caesar salad and got out a baguette I had in the freezer, cut it up into slices, drizzled olive oil over it and stuck it in the oven on broil. When it was nice and browned, I scraped a clove of garlic over each slice. The result=delicious home made garlic bread the cheap way! Woot!

So, even though Barilla isn't paying me to say this (although I wish they were....free pasta?! AMAZING!)....go get yourself a box of Oven Ready Lasagne!!