Applesauce Streusel Cake

January was my first month participating in Bakin' Friends and let me say it was wonderful! Not only did I get paired up with the founder herself, Stephanie from Steph's Bite by Bite, but I got to try out a new recipe that turned out great.  The secret ingredient for January was *Applesauce*.  With January being the month that everyone tries to start back on their health-kicks, it was only fitting that we try a baked recipe made with the healthy substitute.

I am not a "from the brain" baker. I have never been able to change recipes to suit my needs, let along come up with any on my own. So with that being said, this recipe came from Anna at Cookie Madness.

Applesauce Streusel Cake by Cookie Madness

Cake Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup melted butter
3/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg

Streusel Ingredients

1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
4 tbsp cold butter
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray square pan with cooking spray.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, thoroughly stir together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and brown sugar; set aside.

3. In a large bowl, mix melted butter, applesauce, sour cream, vanilla, and egg. Add the dry ingredients to the liquid ingredients and stir until mixed.  Pour into pan.

4. Make streusel by mixing all dry ingredients together, then cutting in the butter.

5. Sprinkle streusel over top of cake. Sprinkle nuts over top of streusel. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown around edges.

Monster Cookies by Steph's Bite by Bite

This Christmas I have been searching for a new, yet scrumptious dessert recipe to try out.  I've been following Stephanie's blog over at Steph's Bite by Bite - She posted this recipe and I just HAD to try it!

Monster Cookies by Steph's Bite by Bite

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 12-ounce jar crunchy peanut butter
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 3/4 cup mini M&Ms
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 4 1/2 cups rolled oats

Instructions

1. Preheat the over to 350 degrees
2. Beat the eggs, sugar, and brown sugar until combined. Add in the salt, vanilla, peanut butter, and butter; Mix again until everything is combined.
3. Pour in the mini M&Ms, chocolate chips, baking soda, and oatmeal; Mix on low to combine.
4. Spoon onto cookie sheet and bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until cookies look light golden brown.

Puppy Chow

It's two weeks until Christmas - and it's not Christmas time until you've had puppy chow, wonderful, heavenly, messing, puppy chow!  This recipe is adapted from the chex box Muddy Buddies, I use more to coat the cereal to make it full of MORE chocolate, MORE peanut butter, and MORE sugar, the best parts :)  I give this as gifts every year and usually have a list of requests to fill before Christmas arrives.  This recipe is definitely a hit here in the great state of Oklahoma.  Hope you enjoy!

Puppy Chow

Ingredients

8 cups chex cereal (corn or rise)
1 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter (half stick)
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
2-3 cups powdered sugar

Directions

1. Pour cereal into large bowl and set aside
2. Melt together chocolate chips, butter, peanut butter, and vanilla over medium heat
3. Pour melted ingredients over cereal; stir until cereal is evenly coated
4. Pour coated cereal into large ziploc bag, pour powdered sugar in; shake until cereal is coated with powdered sugar.  Add more powdered sugar as needed in order to completely coat. (You may have to repeat this step a couple of times to get all of the cereal done)

Simple Salad Dressing

For the #Elf4Health Challenge today we were challenged to make our own dressing for our salad.  I made this one really quick at home Sunday night and put it in a small container to use for the rest of the week.  I've always been a ranch eater, really, ranch is like ketchup for Jeff and I (one of the reasons we deemed the 1st date a success was because we both ordered extra extra ranch with our meals) so for me to try a vinegar based dressing is a big deal... but to be honest, I didn't want to try a ranch recipe and disappoint myself :)  This dressing is very potent, so use sparingly!

Simple Salad Dressing

Ingredients

1/2 cup olive oil

1 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1 1/4 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard

2/3 cup red wine vinegar

Instructions

Just combine ingredients and shake well before serving.



Strawberry Salad

Trisha Yearwood's (and Tosha & Jeanna's) Strawberry Salad

For Thanksgiving this year, Jeff and I split the day between his family and mine.  This meant my meal prep skills were going to be put to the test in front of his mom.  Luckily for me I was put in charge of the simplest part of the meal (well, besides the cream cheese corn...), the Strawberry Salad.  This recipe was borrowed and adapted from Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood and The Food Network.  Bacon was not an original ingredient but with extra pieces lying around we felt it would be a great addition to the salad :)

Ingredients

Salad
1 package ramen noodles, crushed, flavor packet discarded
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
One 5 ounce bag baby spinach
1 pint strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced
1 cup grated parmesan
1/4 cup fresh bacon crumbles (optional)

Dressing
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic, minced

Directions

Salad
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.In a small bowl, mix the ramen noodles, almonds, sunflower seeds, and melted butter.

2. Transfer to baking sheet and toast in the oven, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 10 minutes.

3. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

4. Combine spinach, strawberries, and cheese in a large salad bowl.

Dressing
1. Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar.

2. Combine the oil, paprika, salt, and garlic and then add to the sugar-vinegar mixture.

3. Mix well and store in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Just before serving, sprinkle the crunchy topping over the salad green and toss the salad with enough dressing to coat the greens (may not be the entire mixture).

Ice Box Cake

This week I was responsible for the dessert at my women's bible study class; in order to make sure I made something people could actually consume, I made my grandmas infamous Ice box Cake. This has got to be the easiest recipe I know, which is probably why I pride myself on being able to make it so well ;) It involves just a few ingredients, but most importantly, it only takes 1 measuring cup, so no scrambling around making sure you have all your teaspoons, tablespoons, cup, 1/2 cup, 1/4 cup, etc!   

My favorite part of this recipe (besides its difficulty level) is the recipe card I read it from.  This recipe card came directly from my grandmother - and its one of those recipes, if you had never made it before, you wouldn't be able to decipher the instructions for each step.  For many years I had to call my grandmother to confirm certain ingredients and steps to make sure I was following it correctly, now I only have to use it to remember the measurements!

Nana's Ice Box Cake

Crust
1 cup flour
1 stick butter
1 cup crushed pecans

Combine ingredients and bake for 20 minutes in 350 degree oven. Let crust cool in fridge.

1st Layer
1 block cream cheese (8 oz)
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup cool whip

Combine ingredients and spread over cooled crust.

2nd Layer
1 small box instant chocolate pudding
1 small box instant vanilla pudding
3 cups milk

Combine ingredients and spread over 1st layer.

Top with remaining cool whip and sprinkle with more crushed pecans.

YUMMY!!!

Crock Pot Chili

I made this recipe during the first cooler weekend of fall this year.  Growing up I was not a tremendous fan of chili - I really couldn't even stand the smell of it.  But when my sweetie pie boyfriend specifically requested it, I couldn't help but accept the challenge.

As a semi-relevant side note...I am a HUGE fan of the Pioneer Woman.  Although she is from Northern Oklahoma whereas I am from South Central Oklahoma, I still feel like we have the world in common...well, except that she lives on a ranch and I live in the city... and she is a fabulous chef, whereas I am learning to no longer cook from a box.... But we both like cowboys... we do have that in common ;)

Anywho...this recipe was adopted and adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Crock Pot Chili

Ingredients

2 pounds ground beef (or ground turkey)

1 can tomato sauce

1 can rotel

2 tbsp chili powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground oregano

1 tsp salt

1 can kidney beans

Instructions

1. Brown ground beef (or turkey) on stove top, drain the grease then dump into crock pot.

2. Add the remaining ingredients into the crock pot (make sure to rinse the kidney beans).

3. Add 1/2 cup of water to the crock pot.

4. Stir...

5. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.

I forgot to mention this may be the easiest recipe I've ever made... (yes, even easier then hamburger helper!)  Enjoy!

What are your favorite fall recipes?

Is chili a staple cold weather meal in your family?

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Okay okay...so its been a week, maybe two, since I've posted anything whatsoever.  My mind has been elsewhere but I think I'm ready to dive back into the blog world again!

I tried this recipe from my pinterest page a few weeks back and it was absolutely to die for! But fair warning - on the healthy scale its about a 3.  I doubled the recipe for the topping (what can I say, I love sauces!) so be sure to half this recipe for a semi healthier version as wells as a more delicate taste.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken(adapted from "My Kitchen Escapades")

Ingredients3 boneless chicken breasts

1 cup light mayonnaise

1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp garlic powder (I did 3 tsp...I like garlic...)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray the inside of a square glass pan.

2. Mix together all ingredients and spread evenly over each piece of chicken.  Be sure to cover all exposed meat to prevent the chicken from drying out. Sprinkle additional parmesan on top.

3. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes.  Voila! (Not the prettiest meal - but again...OH SO GOOD!)

Pot Roast Recipe

Well - the weather here in Oklahoma has finally started to cool off a little and the rain has arrived for the fall season.  What better meal to have than crock pot - pot roast?!  Because I was running low on food to take to work with me for lunch - I decided to start a roast before I went to bed in order for it to be ready to take to work with me in the morning.

Homemade Pot Roast



3 to 4 pound Roast Beef or Round Steak

Salt and Pepper

1 small Onion, chopped

1 package Brown Gravy Mix

1 cup Water

1/2 cup Ketchup

2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard

1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder

Place roast in crock pot. Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper.  Combine remaining ingredients; pour over meat.  Add any veggies on top that you like - I added red new potatoes cut into quarters and baby carrots.  Then add water until everything is just covered. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours.

When I woke up the aroma was beautiful and the meat litterally just fell apart with the touch of a fork- this is a great meal for any cool, wet afternoon or evening!

Double Choco Chip Frappe

Since I am not dieting this week - or watching my weight in ANY way, I decided to try out a recipe for a homemade Double Chocolate Chip Frappe (my usual order from Starbucks.  It turned out WONDERFUL!

Here is the recipe:

1 cup milk (whole, 2%, skim, your choice)

1/3 cup chocolate chips

1/4 cup chocolate syrup

1 cup ice

Add all ingredients into a blender, blend, and voila!

What's your favorite starbucks drink?