Red Velvet Bundt Cake

I made my first bundt cake!  Yay!  The recipe came highly recommended by my sister, who made it and loved it.  After seeing a picture of hers, (it looked super good) I bought a bundt cake pan so I could try it too.  :-)  It's a copycat recipe from Nothing Bundt Cakes.  And the best part is that if you don't like that red velvet flavor, you can just use a regular chocolate cake mix rather than a red velvet cake mix.  Here's the recipe:

For the cake:

 

1 package red velvet cake mix*

1 package instant chocolate pudding mix

1 cup sour cream (not low fat, thank you very much)

4 large eggs

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup oil

* You may substitute any chocolate cake mix if you can't get your hands on a red velvet mix, but you'll need to add red food colouring - use the Wilton no-taste red. Add a tablespoon of white vinegar also to give your cake the red velvet "bite".

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In mixer, blend all of the ingredients on low speed until lightly blended and then crank up the speed for about a minute. Don't overbeat.

Pour batter into a bundt pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake for 45-50 minutes and remove to cool on a rack. The cake should release from the pan easily after 15 minutes. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

 

For the frosting:

2 (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

3 to 4 cups confectioner's sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Using your stand mixer, blend the cream cheese and butter until it is very smooth and there are no lumps. Add the vanilla and then the confectioner's sugar, one cup at a time. You will need to scrape the bowl periodically. Depending on how warm your kitchen is and how sweet you like your frosting, you may not need the full four cups of sugar. The main thing is that your frosting is easy to pipe from a bag using the largest round tip you have but thick enough that it doesn't slide right off the cake. Pipe around the cake, one stripe at a time, making sure each stripe is a different length. Finish with a fresh flower or a fluffy bow!

 

 

 

This cake was soooo good!  My husband even had several pieces of it, and he's not the biggest fan of cake. The frosting was amazing too.  (By the way, this recipe makes a TON of frosting, so feel free to half it).  Seriously, I don't think I'll ever buy frosting from the store again - this stuff was heaven.  

I only cooked mine for about 43 minutes and it was done, so be careful not to overcook!  

Here's the picture, which is sort of embarrassing because I do NOT have skills when it comes to frosting bundt cakes.  Oh well, it's just the taste that matters anyway right?

BBQ Chicken and Cheddar Sandwiches

I don't even need to explain why I chose to make this recipe.  If you don't think it sounds good, you're crazy.  When I saw the picture, it looked like my BBQ chicken sandwiches on steriods.  Mmm.  Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

Serves: 4

Yield:

4  4.0

4

sandwic ...

Units: US | Metric

• 4 slices bacon , halved crosswise
• 3 -4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• salt , to taste
• pepper , to taste
• 1 cup barbecue sauce , your favorite
• 1/4 cup water
• 4 large onion rolls , split
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. 1
   Preheat oven to 400.
2. 2
   Fry bacon until crisp. Transfer to paper-lined plate and pour all but 1 tablespoon of bacon fat out of pan.
3. 3
   Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. Cook chicken in bacon fat until browned on one side, about 4 minutes. Flip chicken and add BBQ sauce and water.
4. 4
   Cover, reduce heat to medium and simmer until chicken is cooked through and sauce is slightly thickened, about 8 minutes.
5. 5
   Remove chicken from pan and cut into bite-sized pieces. Arrange onion rolls cut side up on a baking sheet.
6. 6
   Divide chicken among bottom halves of rolls. Top with sauce, cheese, and bacon.
7. 7
   Bake open-faced sandwiches until cheese melts and rolls are golden brown, about 4 minutes. Top each sandwich with toasted roll top.

So this looks like it could cause a heart attack, and usually foods that look like they could cause a heart attack at least taste like they could cause a heart attack... right?  Not this one!  Lame!  All that cheese, bacon, and BBQ sauce and for some reason the one thing it lacked was FLAVOR!  Weird.  I couldn't figure out why it didn't taste absolutely amazingly flavorfully delicious and my husband said, "You know how when you mix together a bunch of colors it just turns brown?  Well, maybe there's just too much flavor and all the flavors got canceled out."  Haha, maybe.  Or maybe I'm just not good at making these.  I might eventually try again, but it'll be a while.  Too disappointing.  Not a horrible recipe, but so not worth all the fat.

The Marlboro Man Sandwich

This recipe comes from The Pioneer Woman.  My husband loves all "man" food, so you can see why the title caught my attention.  I figured that the "manlier" the sandwich, the more my husband would love it.  Here's the recipe:

Recipe: The Marlboro Man Sandwich

Prep Time: 15 Minutes  |  Cook Time: 15 Minutes  |  Difficulty: Easy  |  Servings: 4

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Ingredients

• 1 whole Large (or 2 Small) Onions
• 2 sticks Butter (lots And Lots Of Butter)
• 2 pounds (to 3 Pounds) Cube Steak (tenderized Round Steak That's Been Extra Tenderized)
• Lawry's Seasoned Salt (or Similar Seasoned Salt)
• 1/2 cup (approximately) Worcestershire Sauce
• Tabasco Sauce, To Taste
• 4 whole French/deli Rolls (earthgrains Are Best!)

Preparation Instructions

Slice onions and cook in 1/4 stick butter until soft and light brown. Remove and set aside.

Slice cube steak against the grain. Season with Lawry’s.

Heat 2 tablespoons butter over high heat (in same skillet) until melted and beginning to brown. Add meat in single layer. Cook one side until brown, then flip and cook until brown, about a minute on both sides.

Add 1/2 cup (at least) Worcestershire sauce, 5 to 6 shakes Tabasco, and 2 tablespoons butter. Add cooked onions. Stir to combine.

Butter halved French rolls and brown in skillet.

To assemble, lay bottom half of French roll on plate. Place meat mixture, followed by a spoonful of juice from the pan. Top with other half of roll, cut in half, and devour!

So the recipe calls for a TON of butter, and I definitely didn't add as much as it called for.  I halved the amount of butter each time it called for it and I thought that that was plenty.  Maybe it made a huge difference in the taste, but I doubt it.  I also added some sliced mozzarella to the sandwiches.  Anyway, that's all I really changed from the recipe.  And..... it wasn't amazing.  It was okay, and I definitely didn't hate it, but I was hoping for something amazing, and it was just in the okay-to-good range.  My husband liked it, (and ate two of them) but I don't think he liked it enough to ever even request it again.  So, while this wasn't a failure, I doubt I'll make it very often.  Still a big fan of PW though!

Creamy Grilled Chicken Piccata

When I see "grilled" in the title of a recipe, I usually get scared and ignore the recipe. A tiny George Foreman = lots of unsuccessful grilling in our house. I really do wish we had a proper grill so this wouldn't happen, because I'm pretty sure I've missed out on some great recipes because of it. Anyway, I decided to give this recipe a try because chicken is less scary to bake when the recipe says to grill.... plus, it looked delicious.


Creamy Grilled Chicken Piccata
inspired by The Pioneer Woman
(Printable Recipe)

Chicken
Juice of 1 lemon (3Tbsp)
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp basil or oregano
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Pasta
2 cups dried penne pasta
2 Tbsp butter
Juice of 2 lemons (6 Tbsp)
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1/2 cup half and half (or heavy cream)
2 tsp dried basil
2 Tbps capers
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Chicken
Combine first 6 ingredients and mix well. Place chicken in a ziplock bag and pour marinade over chicken. Marinate overnight in the refrigerator. When ready, grill until done. Allow chicken to rest for a few minutes and then slice into strips to serve over pasta.

Pasta
While chicken is grilling. Cook pasta according to directions (10-12 minutes). Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water and drain. In same sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in garlic and lemon juice. Pour in half and half and whisk until hot. Add some salt and pepper to taste. Add the parmesan cheese, basil and capers, and heat until cheese is melted. Check the consistency of the sauce and add some of the reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce if necessary. Toss in pasta.

Serve in pasta bowls with grilled chicken on top. Sprinkle with more parmesan if desired.



I liked this a lot! You could totally taste the lemon, but not in a gross way. There was just enough lemon flavor to notice it, but not to feel like you got punched in the face with a lemon. The cream, garlic, and oregano adds a lot too- combined with the lemon, they make this dish unique. I liked it more than my husband did, but he didn't have any complaints and said he wouldn't mind eating it again.

As I mentioned, I didn't grill the chicken. I actually just threw it on a skillet for a few minutes and that worked great. It could also be baked. Oh, and I left off the capers. My husband is scared of them, and I didn't have them anyway. :-)

Island Pork Tenderloin

I got this recipe from my mom. In my opinion, it's the only way to eat pork tenderloin. So delicious. Love the unique flavor. I made it a few nights ago and once again we were very pleased with dinner. I have the recipe in a family cookbook, but I found another one online so that I don't have to write it out myself. (Lazy? Yep.) I think it's pretty dang close (if not exactly the same) to the recipe I have.

Ingredients

16 oz Pork tenderloin,
.5 tsp salt
.25 tsp pepper,
.5 tsp chile powder
.5 tsp ground cumin
.5 tsp cinnamon
.25 c brown sugar
.5 tbs fresh garlic, finely chopped
.5 tbs Tabasco sauce

Directions

1. Preheat pven to 350
2. stir together salt, pepper, chile powder, and cinnamon, then coat pork with spice rub.
3. heat oil in a skillet over moderately high heat and brown pork, turning, about 4 minutes.
4. Stir together brown sugar, garlic, and tabasco and pat onto top of tenderloin. place pork in a roasting pan and cook in the oven for 20 minutes or internal temp of 170.

This dish is really good with coconut rice, (I should put up that recipe too!) but on this night I didn't have the ingredients for that so I served it with mashed potatoes. Be careful not to overcook it- I have made that mistake a couple times and it's not nearly as good!

Sweet and Spicy Bacon Chicken

I love bacon.... and who really, who doesn't? The fact that it's bad for you and cooked in grease makes it even more appealing. :-) Yikes. And chicken wrapped in bacon? Yes, please! This recipe looked like a winner, and I was very excited to try it:

Sweet and Spicy Bacon Chicken

4 chicken breasts cut in thirds (12 pieces)

Bacon slices

salt and pepper to taste

garlic powder

chili powder

brown sugar

Cut each breast into 3 pieces, season all the chicken with the spices, then wrap a bacon slice around each piece, roll in brown sugar and place into an oven proof dish....make sure you have some olive oil in the dish too, like 2 or 3 tablespoons is fine {I skipped this since I grilled them. I honestly think you could coat your dish with nonstick cooking spray instead to save a few calories}.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and bacon is nice and brown and crispy. Delicious served with mashed potatoes with some of the gravy from the chicken drizzled on top.

**Also great on the grill! No juices to drizzle on anything, but still delicious!

So I went all cheap on the bacon, which was a mistake. The cheapest bacon they had at the store was the cheapest for a reason.... (duh, right?) .... and was pretty much just strips of fat. Not a fan of that. Still, this turned out pretty good. It wasn't all that I was hoping for it to be, but a big part of that was probably my fault for not getting good bacon. Still, the flavor wasn't absolutely amazing either, so maybe it's wasn't all my fault. Soooo, the verdict is that it was good and I'll probably make it again, but it isn't quite as good as it looks, which is a bummer. Also, if you make this, buy good bacon! :-)

Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken

When I was reading about this recipe, the chef recommended it for a chilly day. Phoenix has maybe five or six chilly days all year, and they definitely don't happen in April. Oh well, it still looked good! Here's the recipe:

In a slow cooker, mix together:

One 24-ounce jar medium or mild salsa

Juice from one lime

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

One 1.25-oz. package taco seasoning

2 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped (optional)

Add 4-6 boneless chicken breast halves (completely defrosted) to the slow cooker and coat with the salsa mixture. Cover and cook on Low for 6 hours.

Serve the chicken with the salsa mixture spooned over the top. If you're feeling crazy, throw a dollup of sour cream on top with some crushed tortilla chips.

This is also delicious as a taco filling or in a taco salad.

This chicken was good. Not amazing, but definitely good. I loved how spicy it was (I was generous with the jalapeno peppers) and it was full of flavor. However, as the chef suggests, I think I would like to try it as a taco or burrito filling. We had it just as it was, and while we enjoyed it, it just seemed like it would be better as a filling rather than by itself. It would even be good over rice. This recipe is definitely a keeper though, and definitely worth trying out!

"Best Steak Marinade In Existence"

Maybe I'm weird, but I never marinated my steak until I tried this recipe. I've marinated chicken a million times, but never steak. This probably has something to do with the fact that if we have just regular steak I have to "grill" it on my George Foreman.... and since that's never very good anyway, I don't bother trying to make amazing steak. I usually just put some seasoning on it and use some A1 for dipping. Anyway, here's the recipe:


Best Steak Marinade in Existence
adapted from allrecipes.com
(Printable Recipe)

1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp garlic powder
3 Tbsp dried basil
1 1/2 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
1 tsp ground white pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp minced garlic

Combine all ingredients. Pour marinade over meat. Cover, and refrigerate for up to 8 hours. Cook meat as desired.


This marinade really was pretty dang good. I'm not sure if it's the best in existence, since (like I mentioned) this was my first time marinating steak, but both me and my husband were very impressed. I bought super cheap steak but this marinade made me feel like I was eating good steak. Not an easy thing to do. I also already had all the ingredients, which makes this recipe even better. I will definitely be using it again.

Mexican Stuffed Shells

I recently found two stuffed shells recipe to try - Sausage and Spinach Shells, and Mexican Stuffed Shells. I texted my husband at work a few days ago to ask him which one he wanted to try first, and he requested the Mexican. So, I used this recipe to make them:

Mexican Stuffed Shells

Source: The Way to His Heart

Ingredients:1 pound ground beef (or ground turkey)

1 package low-sodium taco seasoning
4 ounces cream cheese
20 jumbo pasta shells
1 1/2 cups salsa
1 cup taco sauce
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 cup Monterrey jack cheese

For toppings:

3 green onions

Sour cream

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a pan brown the ground beef; add taco seasoning and prepare according to package directions. Add cream cheese, cover and simmer until cheese is melted. Stir together and mix well. Set aside and cool completely.

While ground beef is cooking, cook the pasta shells according to package directions; drain. Set shells out individually on cutting board or baking sheet so that they don’t stick together.

Pour salsa on bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Stuff each shell with 1-2 tablespoons of the meat mixture. Place shells in 9×13 pan open side up. Evenly cover shells with taco sauce. Cover dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, add shredded cheese and bake for 10-15 more minutes with the foil removed. Top with green onions or olives if desired. Serve with sour cream and/or more salsa.


The last time I tried to combine Mexican food with pasta it didn't turn out very good, so I was nervous about this dinner. As it turns out, there was no need to worry - it was delicious! Lots of flavor (I used medium/spicy taco sauce and salsa) and a fun way to eat Mexican food. I love the cream cheese in it- it gave it an extra good creamy-ness. (creaminess?) It's also one of those meals that you can prepare earlier in the day and then pop in the oven 45 minutes before you want to eat. Even though I like to cook, I also like getting dinner taken care of early in the day so that I don't have to worry about it later.

My husband (the picky one) liked it too, so if you're craving a "different" Mexican dish, try this one.