Dr Pepper Cookies

Eh...I am on the fence about the recipes posted on Pinterest.  I think some are just thrown together and a pic put with the 'recipe'....at any rate, I will not make these again.  I am figuring a recipe out in my head that will be good using Dr Pepper. Brenn loves soda so I thought these would be fun....they look better than they taste, in my opinion.

~Recipe~

1 pkg chocolate cake mix
6-8 ounces of Dr Pepper. 

Mix and bake at 350 degrees for 10-11 minutes. 
I used an ice cream scoop to make them, they are big! 
Frost with 2 cups powdered sugar and 2-3 Tbsp Dr Pepper, mix and drizzle....So easy! If you like them, let me know! 
Enjoy~

S'mores cake

Yum! I was looking through recipes to try that I had in my piles and this looked like a great dessert. We were getting things rounded up for school to start today and I did not want to spend all afternoon in the kitchen so I threw this together and it was a hit! Smells good while baking as well.

~Recipe~
1 box chocolate cake mix, all the ingredients on the box as well. I used Devils Food.
2 cups mini marshmallows
1 c semi sweet chocolate chips
graham cracker crumbs or whole graham crackers

Spray the slow cooker with cooking spray.  Make batter as stated on the box and pour into slow cooker.  Cover, cook on high for 2-21/2 hours.  Turn off cooker and put the marshmallows and chocolate chips over the top and cover for 10 minutes. Spoon warm cake and serve with graham crumbs or squares. Easy and yummy! Enjoy~

Blueberry Biscuits with Blueberry Compote

Yummy....That is it in a biscuit!  I found them on Pinterest and they were a hit, which is different as I am having a hard time finding TO DIE FOR RECIPES on Pinterest.  Most are just average.  It is getting a bit frustrating.    I made them yesterday and they were gone in a few minutes. Make them...soon!!

~Recipe~
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
3 cups blueberries

Oven preheated to 425
Whisk together the flour, baking powder sugar salt and nutmeg.  Add 1 cup of the blueberries and toss in the flour until they are completely covered.  Add the cream and stir until lumpy.  Flour your counter well and turn the dough out on the counter and pat into a square.  Turn it about 4-6 times, not too much, you don't want to over work the dough. Use a pizza cutter and cut into 12 pieces taking care not to cut all the way through the dough, it should still be in 1 piece.  Transfer the dough to a parchment lines baking sheet.  Bake for about 23-25 minutes. Top with the compote and sweetened cream.

~Compote~
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp water
1/2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 cups blueberries, divided into 1 cup each
1 tsp vanilla

Combine the sugar, water, lemon juice and 1 cup blueberries in a small saucepan.  Stir constantly over med-hi heat and bring to a boil.  Let simmer until thick and add the additional 1 cup berries and vanilla. Serve over the blueberry biscuits.  Enjoy~

Samoa Bars

Our favorite Girl Scout cookie is the Samoa...this comes pretty darn close! It is a process but it is well worth it! I have made them 2 times already this week...the kids and friends devoured them....

~Recipe~

Base...
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter softened
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease a 9x13 baking pan.

Cream together the sugar and butter, til fluffy.  Add egg and vanilla and beat well.  On low, gradually add the flour and salt until it is crumbly...you will know when. Put the dough in the bottom of the prepared pan and press into an even layer.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, until set and lightly browned.  Cool COMPLETELY on a wire rack.

Topping...
3 cups shredded coconut
12 ounces caramel*I used the caramel chips...they are my new best friend, so much easier than unwrapping all the caramels*
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp whole milk
10 ounces of semi sweet or dark chocolate chips

Turn oven to 300 degrees, spread the coconut out on a baking sheet with parchment paper. Toast until it is lightly browned, stirring every 4-5 minutes so it doesn't burn.  I toasted mine for about 17 minutes and it was perfect! Cool and set aside.

Melt the caramel, milk and salt in a microwave safe bowl on high for 3-4 minutes.  I stopped mine after every minute to stir it so it didn't get burned. When it is smooth fold the coconut in and stir to make sure it is all covered.  Put this mix over the cookie base and carefully spread into an even layer. Let this cool.  When it is completely cooled cut into bars with a pizza cutter, I find this is the best way to always cut evenly and through a tough bottom layer of a bar recipe. Melt the chocolate in a small bowl in the microwave and watch carefully and stir every 30 seconds or more. Dip the base of each bar into the chocolate and place on a piece of parchment paper.  Drizzle the rest over the tops of the bars.  Place in fridge so they can set.  Once the chocolate is cooled then it peels easily off the paper and YUMMMY! You have a new favorite cookie! Enjoy~

Mexican Stuffed Shells

The kids loved this dish.  I served it with chips, salsa and queso with a salad. Not a good photo at all, my apologies. I was in a hurry, apparently.

~Recipe~

1 lb. ground beef *I use turkey*

1 package low-sodium taco seasoning
4 oz. cream cheese
14-16 jumbo pasta shells
1.5 cup salsa
1 cup taco sauce
2 cups shredded colby jack cheese or just cheddar
3 green onions
Sour cream

In a frying pan cook ground beef; add taco seasoning and prepare according to package directions.  Add cream cheese, cover and simmer until cheese is melted. Blend well. Set aside and cool completely.  While ground beef is cooking, cook the pasta shells according to directions; drain. 

Pour salsa on bottom of 9×13 baking dish.  Stuff each shell with the meat mixture. Place shells in 9×13 pan open side up. Cover shells with taco sauce.  Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, add shredded cheese and bake for 10-15 more minutes, with the foil removed.  Top with any toppings you’d like (green onions, black olives, etc.) Serve with sour cream and/or more salsa. A great dish and I will make it again! Enjoy~

Lemon Garlic Linguini with Mascarpone and Shrimp

YUMMMMMMY!! This is so good and can be thrown together in a snap. It tastes like it comes from a restaurant and looks kinda like it, too.

~Recipe~

1 lb linguini, cooked and 1/2 cup pasta water reserved
1 1/2 tsp lemon zest, divided
juice of 1 lemon
1 lb deveined, peeled shrimp
black pepper
3 garlic cloves thinly sliced
1 small shallot, sliced and chopped
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 c mascarpone cheese
2 Tbsp chopped basil

Pat the shrimp dry after rinsing we..  Toss the shrimp with 1/2 lemon zest and 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.  In a large skittle, med-hi, melt butter until the bubbling subsides.  ADd shallot, garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stir all the time, until garlic is JUST turning brown, about 1 minute.  Add shrimp and cook 1 min 30 sec and turn over, reduce to med heat and add wine and 1/2 lemon juice.  Bring this lovely mix to a boil and add the mascarpone cheese and reserved pasta water then add in the cooked linguini and toss to coat all the noodles.  Cook for 1-2 minutes until the sauce thickens.  Mix in the rest of the zest, juice and basil.  Season with salt and pepper and a little parmesan cheese.  DEVOUR! Enjoy~

Lemon Blueberry cake

I had a houseful of kids this a.m.  The boys were needing to get to basketball practice and I knew it was going to be hard to serve them all.  I have had this recipe for a while and decided to see if it was worth baking.  It was a hit.  The combos are endless....  AND SO EASY!!!

~Recipe~

1 box of cake mix.  I used lemon
4 eggs
1 can pie filling I used blueberry this time.
Mix well and pour into a greased 9x13 and bake for 27-30 min.
I topped mine with sweetened whip! Easy!! Enjoy~