Just this past weekend when my husband had one of those cravings for “something sweet” about 9:00 at night, I remembered the blackberries and decided to make this quick dessert.  (Yes, I have a very spoiled husband.  Stay tuned for more about that)!  This cobbler is super easy to make.  Be sure to have some vanilla ice cream on hand to scoop on top!

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups fresh or frozen (thawed and drained) blackberries
• 2 cup sugar, divided
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions:

In medium bowl, mix blackberries with 1 cup of the sugar.

Let stand about 20 minutes until syrup begins to form.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

In large bowl, stir together flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, salt and milk.

Stir in melted butter until blended.

Spread in ungreased 8-inch square pan.

Spoon blackberry mixture over batter.

Bake 45 to 55 minutes or until dough rises and is golden.

Serve warm with ice cream.

(I doubled the recipe which fits into a 9×13 inch dish).

Salads like this are great for potlucks, family dinners, or just a simple lunch.  Just as the layers of goodies are flexible, the dressing is, too.  You can use all mayo or all Miracle Whip or a combination of the two which is what I do.  Just don’t forget to sprinkle the sugar on that layer.  It gives a yummy boost to the dressing.  If you don’t like the mayo or Miracle Whip, you could substitute ranch dressing (though I’d skip the sugar). Don’t you love a recipe that isn’t really a recipe?  SO flexible, you can do it any way you want!

Ingredients:

• 1 large head iceberg lettuce, chopped
• 1/2  cup celery
• 1 cucumber, chopped
• 1 cup frozen peas, partially thawed
• 2 cups tomatoes, chopped
• 8 whole hard boiled eggs, finely chopped
• 16 ounces bacon, cooked and chopped
• 6-8 ounces cheddar cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup Miracle Whip
• 2 Tablespoon Sugar

Directions:

Layer first six ingredients in order given.

Combine mayonnaise and Miracle Whip.  (You may just use one or the other)

Spread dressing on top of vegetables.

Sprinkle sugar on top of dressing.

Layer cheese and then bacon.

Cover and refrigerate. Toss just before serving.

This carrot cake recipe comes from Paula Deen’s website.  It was the recipe from her Grandmother Hiers.  It is very easy to make and extremely moist.  I made this cake for our “Easter Feaster”.  (I love to say that just to get a reaction from my children)!  While I’m typically a chocolate cake lover, making a Carrot Cake seemed like the right choice for Easter dinner, (you know bunnies and all).  The cake is exceptionally moist and the cream cheese frosting adds just the perfect amount of sweetness.  So good!  I don’t think I need to wait until another holiday to make this one again!

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 3 cups grated carrots
• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, optional

Frosting:

• 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 stick salted butter, room temperature
• 1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour 3 (9 inch) round pans, (I used 2 round pans); Line bottom of the pans with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add eggs and vegetable oil.  Mix until combined. Add carrots and pecans, if using them.

Pour into pans. Bake for approximately 40 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes. Remove from pans, place on waxed paper and allow to cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting:

Add all ingredients, except nuts, into a medium bowl and beat until fluffy using a hand mixer. Stir in the nuts. Spread frosting on top of each cake layer. Stack the cakes on a serving plate and serve.

Note:  Rather than putting the pecans into the frosting, I left the frosting plain and covered the cake in nuts.

We celebrated by having a few of her friends over for a cookout and party.  As I write this, there is a lot of shrieking, giggling, and constant running through my house.  At this age, they like to act like teenagers by trying hair styles, makeup, and being “grown up”.  Yet at the same time, they have enjoyed the evening by running through the yard playing hide and seek and stuffing whole cupcakes in their mouth!  It is an interesting time of life!

Tonight I grilled hamburgers & hotdogs for dinner and then for birthday cake, Anne Marie requested cupcakes.  I knew just the recipe to use!  These “Surprise Cupcakes” are a recipe that my sister gave me years ago.  The surprise comes from the cream cheese mixture with chocolate chips that fill each cupcake.  While some fillings in cupcakes have to be piped in, this recipe is so easy!  You just put in some batter and then top with a tablespoon of filling.  When they bake, the cake surrounds the filling!

Ingredients for Cupcakes:

• 1 box chocolate cake mix (I have used devil’s food or chocolate fudge cake mixes)
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• Dash of salt
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

Mix cake mix according to package directions.  Pour cupcakes 1/2 full of the cake batter.  Combine all other ingredients for filling.  Place 1 tablespoon of cream cheese filling into each cup.  Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes.  Frost when cooled completely.

This recipe for Chocolate Fudge Frosting is one of the best chocolate frostings that I have ever eaten!  It is SO easy to make and there is absolutely NO comparison with canned chocolate frosting.  The taste is more fudgy and the texture more satiny smooth than the store bought kind.  You have to try it whether you do these cupcakes or just make any other chocolate cake.  It is REALLY good!  I topped each cupcake with a little fancy sugar sprinkles that I bought at Hobby Lobby last Christmas time.  I thought they looked cute with my turquoise and white cupcake wrappers!

Ingredients for Chocolate Fudge Frosting:

• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/3 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1 (16oz) package powdered sugar, sifted
• 2-3 tablespoons milk

 Directions:

Cream butter; add next three ingredients, beating well.  Add cocoa, mixing well.  Gradually add sugar and milk alternately to reach spreading consistency; beating until smooth.

You certainly don’t have to make the recipe into crescent shapes, but I think by rolling them like this, it makes the simple bread look much more elegant!  Feel free to try any shape you like.  Just be sure to have plenty of real butter and maybe some homemade strawberry jelly ready when they come from the oven.  They won’t last long!

Ingredients:

• 3 packages active dry yeast
• 2 cups lukewarm water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 7 cups all purpose flour

Directions:

Sprinkle yeast on lukewarm water: stir to dissolve.

Add sugar, oil, salt, and egg; blend well.

Let stand 5 minutes.

Add 2 cups flour.

Beat with mixer at medium speed until smooth, about two minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.

Gradually add enough flour to make soft dough that leaves the sides of the bowl.

Turn out on floured surface and knead until smooth and satiny, about eight minutes.

Place dough in greased bowl; turn over to grease top.

Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.

To make rolls in the crescent roll shape:

Flour your surface.  Take your ball of dough and roll into a circular shape.

Spread a thin layer of softened butter all over the circle.

Using a pizza cutter, cut dough into triangles as shown.  I usually get about 20 triangles for this recipe.  After cutting triangles, tightly roll each piece into the crescent shape like this.  When the crescent is complete, pinch any loose ends tightly so keep in place.

 Place crescent rolls on a baking pan and let them rise for about 30 minutes in a warm place.

Bake at 375 °F for approximately 20 minutes.  As soon as they come out of the oven, I have a stick of butter ready to spread over the top!  YUM!

Next, I need to work on the mocha frappe recipe.  On second thought, maybe I shouldn’t! 

Ingredients:

• 10 medium size flour tortillas
• 8 Scrambled eggs
• 8 American cheese slices
• 1 pound pork sausage, cooked, crumbled, drained
• 1/4 cup salsa

Directions:

Combine sausage, eggs, cheese, and salsa.

Warm ingredients until cheese has melted.

Depending on amount you like, fill center of tortilla with 1/3-1/2 cup of the sausage mixture.

Fold ends of tortilla inward and then roll up the tortilla.

To serve immediately, use warmed tortillas.  To freeze, place each tortilla in plastic wrap, seal tightly, and freeze.

When ready to eat, warm tortilla in microwave for approximately 2 minutes.

Cookies are one of my favorite things to make!  This recipe comes from one of the blogs that I enjoy following called Two Peas and Their Pod. It is a yummy variation of a chocolate chip cookie that has a unique texture and flavor because of the toasted coconut and toffee chips.  SO good!  In fact the first time I made these cookies and planned to blog about them, I couldn’t because they were eaten up before I had a change to get a picture!  Oh well, you know what that means?  Not a problem,  I just had to bake some more!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flaked sweetened coconut
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup Heath toffee bits
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange coconut in a single layer on the pan.

Bake for 5-7 minutes or until coconut is lightly toasted, stirring once.

Set coconut aside to cool.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, soda, and salt in a medium bowl.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add brown sugar and butter.

Beat at medium speed until creamy and smooth, about two minutes.

Beat in vanilla extract and egg.

Slowly add dry ingredients and mix until combined.

Stir in toasted coconut, toffee bits, and chocolate chips.

Drop spoonfuls of dough 2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheet.

Bake at 350° F for 10-12 minutes or until cookies start to brown around the edges.

Remove from pan, and cool completely on wire racks.

Original recipe:  Two Peas & Their Pod

You could add anything to this that you would like on pizza.  I happened to have some leftover pieces of breakfast sausage, so I crumbled it up and threw that it.  I added the mushrooms and green peppers, but you could certainly leave out the veggies if your family doesn’t like them.  Other good add-ins might be onion, olives, ham, beef, or Italian sausage.  You can also change your pasta to anything you like.  I just happened to have rotini in the pantry, but next time I might try some kind of fun shaped pasta.

Something else I did that you wouldn’t have to do is to cook the pepperoni a little bit before adding it to the pasta.  I did that because for me pepperoni is too greasy.  I wanted to cook out a little of the grease before adding it in, but you can just throw it in uncooked.

This was a quick & easy weeknight dinner.  I’ll definitely be making it again.  Though next time to please my husband, I’ll just have to add pepperoni & cheese not by the cup, but by the pound!

Ingredients:

• 5 cups cooked pasta
• 2 cups pepperoni, roughly chopped & more to add on top
• 1 cup sausage, cooked & finely chopped
• 8 oz mushrooms
• 1/3 cup green pepper, finely chopped
• 1 1/2-(26oz) jars spaghetti sauce
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions:
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Preheat broiler.

In a large oven-proof skillet, cook sausage until no longer pink.

Remove sausage from skillet.

Cook mushrooms & green pepper in sausage drippings until softened.

Add chopped pepperoni and cook 3-5 minutes.

Drain off excess grease.

Add spaghetti sauce.

Heat over medium-high heat for 5 minutes.  Stir in cooked pasta, sausage, mushrooms, and green pepper.

Spread shredded mozzarella cheese over the top and then dot with extra pepperoni.

Place skillet under broiler until the cheese is brown and bubbly.

Adapted from Plain Chicken

Nothing tastes better than a simple chocolate chip cookie, but for a little fancier dessert, try this giant cookie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and drizzle of  caramel and/or hot fudge sauce!

However you bake it, you can’t go wrong with a gigantic chocolate chip cookie!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup minus 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons molasses
• 2 1/2 tablespoons original coffee creamer powder
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 °F .

In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip together butter, sugar, molasses and coffee creamer powder until combined well.

Mix in egg and vanilla..

Slowly add in dry ingredients and mix just until combined.

Stir in milk chocolate chips and semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Butter a 10 inch cast-iron skillet.

Spread cookie dough into an even layer in the skillet.

Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until golden (note: the cookie will continue to cook slightly once removed from oven so judge accordingly).

Allow to cool for about 20 minutes before cutting into slices.

***You can top with frosting, a drizzle of caramel sauce, a drizzle of hot fudge sauce, ice cream, or just plain!

I love little sliders, though I’ve hardly ever made them at home.  I got this recipe from the Pioneer Woman blog (which I happen to love)!  The chicken is cut into small pieces and pounded thin.  You can use any type of seasoning on the chicken, but I really loved the New Orleans Cajun seasoning that gave them a little kick!  I toasted the buns and added mayo, sharp cheddar cheese, tomato, lettuce, and of course yummy bacon!  The chicken was SO good that I want to try it again served with pasta and some kind of delicious sauce.  Stay tuned for that!

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 16 slices bacon
• Cajun spice
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 16 small dinner rolls
• 16 slices cheese (cheddar, Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack)
• Toppings of your choice: tomato,  lettuce,
• Mayo or mustard

Directions:

Slice bacon pieces in half and fry until crisp.

Slice each chicken breast in to half by length and by width.  (The chicken will slice much easier when slightly frozen.)  You will end up with sixteen small patties.

Place a piece of plastic wrap on top of the chicken pieces and pound gently with a rolling pin or meat mallet to flatten slightly.

Brush both sides of the chicken pieces with a little bit of the bacon fat, then season with Cajun spice and salt and pepper to taste.

Heat a grill pan or a heavy skillet over medium to medium-high heat.

Cook chicken pieces on the first side until lightly browned then flip them over on the other side and cook until done.

Lay a slice of cheese on top of each piece of chicken to melt & then top with a couple of bacon slices.

Spread both sides of dinner rolls with the spread of your choice (mayo, mustard, etc.) and the toppings of your choice (tomato, lettuce, etc.)

Place chicken pieces in between halved dinner rolls. Serve immediately!