Skor Candy Bar Cake

Now I know that most of you probably already have this recipe or something really similar but this is such a yummy and easy-to-make dessert that I thought I would post it anyway. I've had different versions of this cake but this is my favorite one because it's so moist and gooey and seriously so simple to make!

Skor Candy Bar Cake

• 1 german chocolate cake mix + eggs, water, and oil specified on box
• 1 can Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk
• 1 bottle Mrs. Richardson's butterscotch topping
• 12 oz. cool whip
• 3 Skor candy bars, crushed

prepare and bake cake according to package directions in a 9x13 inch pan. when you remove the cake from the oven, immediately poke small holes all over the cake about 1/2 inch apart from each other. pour condensed milk all over the top of the cake and then pour the butterscotch topping over the top of that. refrigerate immediately and let cool completely. once cooled, spread cool whip on top and then sprinkle with crushed skor bars.

Sausage & Apricot Stuffed Pork Chops

Ok, so it has been snowing all morning and it looks like a winter wonderland outside...what is wrong with this picture??? I'm just glad it's supposed to be nice the rest of the week or this would seriously be depressing! Since it's snowing, I thought I would post a yummy recipe that I made last week when it was nice, sunny and warm outside. These stuffed pork chops are so good and easy to make. I made a gravy to go with them (as you can see in the picture) but they honestly don't need it, they have enough flavor on their own. Yum! 

  

 Sausage and Apricot Stuffed Pork Chops

• 8 thinly cut boneless pork loin chops
• salt and pepper
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup chicken stock plus a splash, divided
• 1 lb. sweet Italian sausage
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried sage
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

preheat oven to 350 degrees. heat a large skillet over medium high heat. season both sides of pork chops with salt and pepper. add a couple tablespoons of olive oil to the hot skillet and cook pork chops until they start to caramelize on both sides, about 2 minutes. transfer pork chops to a 9x13 inch pan and add 1/2 cup of chicken stock to the pan. cover the pan loosely with foil and cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes while you make the stuffing.

return skillet to the stove and add a tablespoon of olive oil. add Italian sausage and brown. add celery and onions and cook for 3 minutes and then add in the apricots. cook for 2 more minutes and then add in the parsley, sage and 1/2 cup chicken stock. reduce heat and cook for 6 minutes. add a splash of chicken stock and heavy cream to moisten stuffing.

remove pork chops from the oven. to serve, place 4 pork chops on a platter or individual plates and mound with stuffing and then top with the remaining pork chops.

Teriyaki Bacon Wrapped Chicken Skewers and Veggie Skewers

My husband and I had some family and friends over the other day for a barbecue and I really wanted to make skewers for the occasion. I found this super yummy and super easy teriyaki sauce recipe from Our Best Bites that I used to marinate the bacon wrapped chicken and pineapple skewers. Wow! They were so good and everyone just loved them! My husband keeps telling me that we need to make them again because he liked them so much. I also grilled some veggie skewers to go along with the meat. I served the skewers with sticky rice and a salad and it was just perfect!

Teriyaki Bacon Wrapped Chicken Skewers

• 
  
  3 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
• 
  
  1 package thin cut bacon
• 
  
  1 pineapple, cut into chunks
• 
  
  1/2 cup sugar
• 
  
  1/2 cup soy sauce
• 
  
  1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 
  
  1 clove garlic, minced
• 
  
  1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 
  
  1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 
  
  1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 
  
  1 tablespoon cold water

teriyaki sauce:

in a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and pepper. bring to a boil over medium-high heat. while heating, combine cornstarch and cold water. when the sauce boils, add the cornstarch mixture. stir until thickened and bubbly.

to prepare the skewers:

if you are using wood skewers make sure to soak them in water for a few hours prior to assembly so that they don't burn on the grill. cut the bacon slices into thirds and then wrap a slice of bacon around each piece of chicken. skewer the bacon wrapped chicken and the pineapple alternately onto the skewers. place skewers in a shallow pan and pour the teriyaki sauce over them. marinate in the refrigerator for at least three hours or more turning skewers and coating them with sauce occasionally.

Veggie Skewers

• mushrooms
• purple onion
• yellow zucchini
• green zucchini
• red bell pepper
• green bell pepper
• any other veggies that you like
• melted butter

cut or slice veggies into bite sized chunks. assemble on skewers. brush with melted butter and place on grill. brush with more melted butter as you grill.

Heavenly Joes- a.k.a Sloppy Joes

For some strange reason I have been craving a really good sloppy joe for the past several months. I would have made some right away when I first started craving them but my husband told me that he thinks sloppy joes are gross. Well I decided that he must not have ever had a really good sloppy joe so I was determined to change his mind. I did a little recipe searching and finally ended up combining a couple different recipes to make this recipe. The results were awesome! My husband said that they were so good that they were 'heavenly joes.' So that's what I decided to call them. My husband said that the reasons why he loved them were because not only were they very flavorful, but they were also full of meat and not just a lot of messy sauce. So I am now happy to say that my husband has been converted to sloppy joes and now I can have them whenever I'm craving them and not feel guilty!

Heavenly Joes- a.k.a. Sloppy Joes

CLICK HERE FOR MY RECIPE

Thai Chicken Wraps

I saw this recipe several months ago and I've been wanting to make it ever since. I don't normally make recipes like this but I thought that it would be fun to try something a little different. I made it for my husband and myself and we both really liked it! Since it was just the two of us we had leftovers and I seriously lived off of these for the next few days. I really like the combination of the creamy, slightly spicy sauce with the fresh crunch of the cucumber and peanuts. These make the perfect summer wraps!

Thai Chicken Wraps

• 2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
• 1 cup cucumber, peeled and diced or cut into matchsticks
• 1/2 of a red pepper, thinly sliced
• 2/3 cup roasted peanuts
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons minced ginger
• 6 teaspoons fresh lime juice
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 4 tablespoons water
• flour tortillas

combine chicken, cucumber, red pepper and peanuts. place sugar, ginger, lime juice, soy sauce, salt, red pepper, and garlic in a blender and process until smooth. add peanut butter and watter and process until smooth. add peanut butter mixture to chicken mixture and mix well. spoon into flour tortilla wraps with cooked rice and chopped romaine lettuce. roll up and enjoy!

Homemade Oreo Cookies

First off, I think these cookies are SO much better than store bought oreos. Don't get me wrong, I like store bought oreos, but these homemade oreos are so soft and yummy that I can't help liking them more. I made a double batch thinking they would last for awhile but no, they were gone way too quickly. I took a plate over to a family get together and I think everyone wished I would have brought more because they were seriously gone in minutes. My husband was also very disappointed when he came home the other day and found that they were all gone. I guess I'll just have to make some more very soon. :)

Homemade Oreo Cookies

• 1 box devil's food cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup shortening
• 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar

preheat oven to 350 degrees. with a hand mixer, combine cake mix, eggs, and shortening. using a small ice cream scoop, scoop out cookies onto baking sheet. bake 10 minutes. cookies should be soft. remove from oven and transfer cookies to cooling rack.

with a hand mixer, combine cream cheese, butter, and sugar. frost the bottom of a cookie and then top with another cookie to make a sandwich. continue with remaining cookies. makes about 25-30 cookie sandwiches.

Balsamic Chicken

This is another amazing recipe from my sister-in-law Kristin. I made it for my husband and brother and we all loved it. This is one of those recipes that tastes like you spent a lot of time making it but it's actually really easy to prepare. If you decide to make this chicken (which you definitely should) I recommend serving it with garlic mashed potatoes and steamed asparagus, so delicious!

Balsamic Chicken

CLICK HERE FOR MY RECIPE

Streusel Breakfast Cake

I woke up this morning and I was starving! Unfortunately I've been procrastinating going to the grocery store so there was seriously nothing to eat. All I had was one egg so I looked through my recipes and found this breakfast cake which conveniently only called for one egg. It also looked simple to make so I went for it. The results were delicious! The cake was nice and fluffy and the streusel was really yummy. I got this recipe from my good friends the Davis family and I will definitely make it again!

Streusel Breakfast Cake

*topping:

• 2/3 cup original bisquick mix
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted

*breakfast cake:

• 2 cups original bisquick mix
• 2/3 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 egg

preheat oven to 375 degrees. grease a 9 inch round cake pan and set aside.

in a small bowl, stir streusel ingredients together until crumbly; set aside. in a medium bowl, mix breakfast cake ingredients together until blended. spread in pan. sprinkle with streusel topping pushing down into batter with fingers. bake for 18-20 minutes.

Baby Shower Favors- Cake Pops

My mom and I helped throw a baby shower for one of my good friends this last weekend and we were in charge of dessert and favors. We decided to make things easy for ourselves so we ordered bundtinis from Nothing Bundt Cakes for the dessert. For the favors we made cake pops. Both the bundtinis and the cake pops were SO yummy and they were just perfect for the shower! So I guess this post is more of an idea than a regular recipe but I will include the instructions for making the cake pops. :)

Top- Chocolate Chocolate Chip

Middle- White Chocolate Raspberry

Bottom- Red Velvet

Red Velvet Cake Pops

CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPE