Nutella Cookies. 'Nough said.

Dear Nutella Cookies,

You look amazing and I have had a thing for you for a while now. I think about you all the time and I wanted to say, "Nutella Cookies, you complete me."

xoxo,
Cathy

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup Nutella
2 tablespoon chocolate syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar and brown sugar. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt. Mix in eggs, chocolate syrup and vanilla. 

3. Fold in chocolate chips.

4. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Drop tablespoonfuls of dough about 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-11 minutes.
5. I also highly recommend watching this video while cookies are in the oven:

Chocolate + Bacon = Awesome

I once heard on the Food Network that baking has trends. Well let me tell you something Food Network: there are two ingredients that never go out of style...BACON and CHOCOLATE. Put them together and you have the best darned cupcake on the planet.

Servings: 12 cupcakes  Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:
8-10 pieces of crumbled bacon, divided
1 dark chocolate or devil's food cake mix*, prepared as per the instructions on back of the box with exception of substituting chilled coffee for water
3/4 cup of heavy whipping cream
9oz dark chocolate chips, divided

Directions:
Explained in the video

*I like using Betty Crocker's or Pillsbury's Dark Chocolate or Devil's Food Cake mix for this recipe

Chicken and Veggie Stir-Fry for Dummies

Stir-fry is really cool because it's so easy that even if you can't cook, it still tastes like you bought it at Beni-freaking-hana.

Ninja chef or not, here's the recipe...

Servings: 4 Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and julienned
1 yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded and julienned
1 cup of broccoli florets
1/2 cup of red onion, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 baby eggplant or japanese eggplant, cut into chunks
1 cup yellow squash, cut into chunks
2/3 cup teriyaki sauce
1 cup bean sprouts
1 cup bok choy, sliced
16 oz grilled chicken breast, diced
1 cup snow peas
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 tablespoons sesame oil

Directions:
1. Cut all vegetables, grill and dice chicken, measure ingredients so they are ready to go. Once you begin adding things to the stir-fry it goes really fast.
2. In a large skillet or wok, heat the canola oil over high heat. Add peppers, onion and broccoli while stirring constantly.
3. Continue to stir and add in garlic, eggplant, squash and teriyaki sauce. Keep stirring for 2 minutes and add in sprouts, bok choy, chicken, snow peas, salt and pepper. Stir another 2-4 minutes or until crisp/tender.
4. Open sesame oil (lol). Stir in sesame oil and remove from heat. Serve immediately.



WARNING: Although this recipe may cause you to think you are a skilled hibachi chef, remember that YOU ARE NOT A SKILLED HIBACHI CHEF. Leave the knife throwing and onion volcanos to the pros.

It's been a while... Well I'm back with Mini Oreo Cupcakes

Many times when people take something great and make a spinoff or a sequel, it ends up failing miserably. (Take note, people involved in the making of Star Wars: Episode XII)

But this. This is not the case. Today, we're going to take an Oreo and transform it into something magical. This is the stuff that makes your tastebuds happy.

And the frosting. Don't get me started on the frosting. It tastes like the center of an Oreo...and that's because it's actually made out of the center of an Oreo. Hungry yet? Good.

Servings: 36 mini cupcakes Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:
1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 cup hot water

1 1/3 cup all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 cup butter (divided)

2 large eggs

3 tsp vanilla extract (divided)

1 package of mini Oreos

Cream center from 1 package of Double Stuf Oreos

1 box of powdered sugar

1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In a medium bowl, mix together cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and salt. Slowly stir in water. Add eggs and 2 tsp of vanilla extract. Stir in 1/2 cup of butter.

3. Line mini cupcake tin and place a mini Oreo at the bottom of each liner. Pour cupcake mix into tin, about 3/4 of the way up. Bake for 9-12 minutes.

4. Combine cream center of Double Stuf Oreos and 1 cup of room temperature butter. Mix in 1 tsp of vanilla extract and salt. Slowly stir in box of powdered sugar, one cup at a time.

5. After cupcakes have cooled, frost and decorate with remaining mini Oreos or left over cookie bits from the package of Double Stuf.

Semi-Homemade: Sugar Cookies with a Cream Cheese Frosting

Today we are going to cheat a little. On our diet and on our recipe.

We're using a cake mix to make these cookies. Some say it's cheating, but if it's wrong then I don't want to be right.

Personally, I don't think there is anything wrong with using a pre-made mix every once in a while, especially if it can produce something as delicious as this.

Plus, the cream cheese frosting is from scratch so you can still pass them off as semi-homemade.

Servings: 12 cookies   Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

1 box of vanilla cake mix

3/4 cup butter, softened and divided

1 large egg

2 oz light cream cheese

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1.5 oz sprinkles

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Mix together cake mix, 1/2 cup butter and egg until smooth.

3. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and drop tbsp sized balls of dough about 2 inches apart.

4. Bake for about 10 minutes or until edges start to brown. Let cool on rack.

5. For frosting, mix together 1/4 cup butter, cream cheese. Slowly stir in powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Let chill for 20 minutes.
6. Once cookies have cooled and frosting is slightly chilled, sandwich a dollop of frosting between two cookies. Immediately roll sides of sandwiched cookie in bowl of sprinkles.

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies (Maybe Vegan)

The best part of making cookies is eating some of the dough. If you're like me, sometimes you "forget" to turn on the oven all together.

But moms across the globe preach to never eat raw dough, since salmonella is the worst. SO, here is a recipe for eggless banana chocolate chip cookies.

No eggs AND no butter. You can eat the dough, pretty much guilt-free. Also, if you swap out regular chocolate chips for vegan or carob chips, you can make vegan banana chocolate chip cookies! (don't be scared to try if you're not a vegan)

Servings: 12 cookies   Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 large banana, mashed

1/3 cup applesauce

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cup flour

1/2 tbsp water

pinch of salt

6 oz chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In a medium bowl, mix together sugar, brown sugar, banana, applesauce, vanilla extract, baking soda and water until smooth. Stir in flour and salt. Add chocolate chips.

3. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and drop large spoonfuls of dough about 2 inches apart.

4. Bake for about 10 minutes or until edges start to brown.

5. Congratulate yourself if you actually made cookies and had enough willpower to not eat all the dough. YOU DID IT!!

Meet your new best friend: Monkey Bread Pizza

I say "meet your new best friend" simply because after eating monkey bread pizza, you will never care about anything as much as you do monkey bread pizza. Your husband/boyfriend/significant other/cat will no longer take priority in your life. It's that good.


Servings: 6    Time: 1 hr 15 min

Ingredients:
40 oz pizza dough
8 oz mozzarella cheese, cubed
1 pkg of pepperoni
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp red pepper flakes



Watch the video for the directions :)

Video credit: DSM Living, Silverwings Productions

Stuffed Peppers and Stuff

My stuffed peppers look like hearts. Cute, no?

Stuffed peppers are TheBomb.com (is that still a cool phrase?) Seriously though, they make my taste buds happy and it's a nice change up from the ol' tacos and burritos. AND no tortilla means fewer carbs. Carbs are yucky.

Ready for the awesomely delicious recipe?

Serves: 6   Time: About 40 min

Ingredients:
6 bell peppers (red or green or a combo of both)
1 lb of ground turkey or beef
1 1/2 cups rice, cooked
1/2 cup white onion, diced
1/2 cup tomato, diced
1/4 cup corn
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 packet of fajita seasoning
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce (optional)
8 oz shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese, divided

Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Cut peppers in half, remove seeds and membrane. Place cut-side down on a baking sheet and cook for 25 minutes in the oven.
3. While peppers are cooking, place the ground turkey or beef in a large skillet over medium to high heat. Add fajita seasoning, water and oil and stir often to make sure the meat doesn't burn at the bottom of the pan. Add onion, tomato, corn and cilantro.
4. Once the meat is fully cooked, remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl. Stir in rice, chili sauce (if desired) and 4 oz of cheese.
5. Spoon mixture into roasted pepper halves and top with remaining cheese. Return filled peppers to the oven for about 5 minutes until the cheese is melted. Serve immediately.
6. Brag to all your friends about what an amazing a chef you are.