Sunday, May 27, 2012

Golden Oreo Cake Batter Blondies

While preparing for our cookout this week, I went through my Pinterest boards to find a dessert recipe. Earlier in the week I had remembered searching through a blog that I adore, and I found a recipe for golden oreo cake batter blondies. I knew that would be my new recipe for the week.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
First mix together 1 yellow cake mix, 1/4 cup of oil, and 1 egg. I used my stand mixer for this. After those 3 ingredients are mixed together, slowly mix in 1/3-1/2 cup milk. I filled my 1/2 cup measuring cup, turned my mixer on low, and slowly added in the milk. I ended up staying between 1/3-1/2 rather than choosing one or the other. The batter will be thick and sticky.

Next, I added in 1/2 cup of sprinkles. I took my mixing bowl off of the mixer and used a large spoon to fold these in. It was quite the workout :)
After the sprinkles are folded in, you are going to fold in 1 1/2 cups of crushed oreos. To make this a little easier and to be sure that I had the oreos mixed thoroughly, I folded the oreos in by 1/2 cup measurements.

Now you are ready to place these in your greased 8x8 baking pan.
Here is what the batter looks like after smoothing and evening it out. Once you are satisfied with this, top with more sprinkles and crushed oreos. It now looks like this.
YUM!!! Place in the oven for 25-30 minutes. Your house is going to smell delightful, and trust me on this one, it is hard to wait 30 minutes for these to cool to cut. These were a hit at the cookout, and the taste and texture of the blondies are perfect.
When you pull them out of the oven, the middle is going to look like it is not cooked all of the way. Wait 30 minutes to cut them, and by that time, the middle will have become more stable.

1 yellow cake mix
1/4 cup oil
1 egg
1/3-1/2 milk
1/2 cup sprinkles(have extra to top with)
1 1/2 cup crushed golden oreos(have extra to top with)

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

A Year of Bliss

I still cannot believe that today is our ONE year anniversary. It seems like yesterday that I was picking up my dress, helping my MIL make the Groom's cake and goodies, spending the night before with my family, and getting dolled up for pictures. I felt incredibly beautiful on that day, and it meant even more to me that I walked down the aisle to the same song that my mother did.
 http://sfstrings.com/music/MIDI/BACH_AVE_MARIA.MID

Everything was beautiful. Granted, things did not go the way that we had planned that day, the outcome of this huge event in our lives was perfect. We had a wonderful honeymoon filled with lots of fun and relaxation. Our trip back home to the states was exciting to say the least :) Here's a part of it
Why yes, that is Chris Brown. Our plane from Miami to Birmingham was cancelled, and Mr. Brown was the the Miami International Airport.

Happy Anniversary to us, and many more to come. I have married my soul mate, best friend, and my perfect prince. Nothing is better than being treated like a queen and knowing how loved and adored I am. I am truly blessed.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Chicken Teryaki

It has been 11 days since I graduated, and I have to say I am finally relaxed. I have gotten myself on a little schedule again, and I love being able to spend time to pamper myself. I have been quite creative with cooking lately, and I very proud of that. From the pizza casserole, adding my own touches to the meatballs, and trying new recipes.

*A little can go a long way*
This is true in nursing as well as every other aspect in life. For example, last week I was on my way to get my CPR/BLS renewed and there were two RN's at the gas station I stopped at. I approached them, shook their hands, and wished them a Happy Nurse's Week. I don't know how if affected them, but knowing that I thanked them for all they do made my day. Giving is always better than receiving. That is another reason why I chose nursing as my career.

So...onto the 'yaki. I was on one of my favorite websites, Pinterest, on Monday, and I came across a crock pot chicken teriyaki recipe. It can't get any better after you add the words "crock pot" to something.

This is modified from Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom's blog.

Ingredients:
1 lbs of boneless skinless chicken thighs
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 1/2 teaspoons cold water
Cooked rice

Place the chicken in the crock pot. Mix the sugar, soy sauce, apple cider, vinegar, ginger, garlic, and pepper together, and pour on top of the chicken. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Pour liquid from the crock pot into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Mix together cornstarch and water, and once mixed stir into the crock pot liquid. Bring sauce down to medium and keep stiring until the sauce has thickened.

Boil rice. For vegetables, I used a frozen bag of gumbo style veggies. I would have preferred to use an asian style, but that was unavailable :)

After the sauce, veggies, and rice were complete, I shredded the chicken. Then I placed it all in a bowl.


Thursday, May 10, 2012

Crock Pot Meatballs

It is hard to believe that I have been graduated almost a week. This time last week, I was a house cleaning mad woman preparing my house for my Mom, Dad, and Sister's arrival. I was exhausted because I couldn't sleep because of all the excitement of pinning, graduation, time with my family, parties, cake(YUM!!), and most of all spending time with the family I have spent the most time with these past 2 years....the UAH CON Class of 2012.

Everyone has been saying I deserve this time off and to relax. This is probably the hardest thing for me. I'm a busy body. I love having things to do. I adore having lists that I can check off, and I don't have that right now. SO....I've been reading books for FUN, working out to take my mind off of things, looking at coupons, and making delicious food. Today I'm making one of my favorites! CROCK POT MEATBALLS MMMMMMM!!!!

I first found the idea on Pinterest, and I followed the picture to another blog: http://www.sixsistersstuff.com.
If you haven't tried any of their recipes, today is the day! What I love about this recipe is that it doesn't require many ingredients at all and MOST importantly, the meatballs are B1G1 at Publix this week, so head on over there.

Crock Pot Meatballs:
2 packages of Armour meatballs(I used turkey)
1 18 oz jar of grape jelly
12 oz chili sauce(Ok, I got the 10 oz can, and it was fine. This is basically the chili you put on hot dogs.)



It sounds like a weird combination, but the flavors together are unbelievable!

Put them all in the crock pot, stir them all around, and put your crockpot on high for 6-8 hours. When it is around 10 minutes before dinner, I boil rice(brown, of course). Once the rice is finished, plate it and top with your delicious meatballs and sauce. ENJOY!!!