Heart Brownie Bites

Here are the cute and adorable Heart Brownie Bites from the cutest baby shower ever. This is the last dessert recipe from our PINKEST BABY SHOWER event. These too were delicious. I know the Heart Marshmallows are around only at Valentine's Day, but these brownies could easily be made with those CUTE bunny marshmallows that are out now for Easter or just regular ole' white marshmallows would work great too.

Heart Brownie Bites
idea found at A Pumpkin and A Prince

1 box of your favorite brownie mix
1 bag of Heart marshmallows (other shapes or just plain white will work too)
White Melting Chocolate

The recipe is quite simple. Fill a mini muffin pan 2/3 of the way with brownie mix and baked them for about 13-15 minutes. As soon as you remove them from the oven while they are still hot, press marshmallows into each one. The heat of the brownie slightly melts the bottom of the marshmallows, keeping it in place. Once they are completely cooled, then melt a few melting chocolates in a ziploc baggie, snip off the end and drizzle over them.

Pinkest Baby Shower: Other Goodies & Dessert Bar

We had so many fun treats at this baby shower, here is just a few more easy, fun and delicious ideas.

Dessert Bars are a fun new idea for all kinds of different parties, this is actually my second one I've ever made and they are so much fun. I am planning on doing my next dessert bar all black and gold for my daughter's high school graduation. I am not on the hunt for anything and everything white, gold (yellow) and black. Send me ideas or a link if you have any.

I made some quick White Chocolate Cherry Bark. No recipe needed. You melt some chocolate, add in some cherry candy (sold at our local cake store), sprinkle with some sprinkles and let it harden. Break apart and you've got some instant bark.

And there are alwasy the JUMBO marshmallows. They can be covered in any color chocolate, sprinkled with any color and with a stick added in they make the perfect dessert bar treat.

Jumbo White Chocolate Covered Marshmallows

Shirley Temple Cupcake with White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Lofthouse Sugar Cookies and Frosting

Lofthouse Sugar Cookies

Here she is... my beautiful niece Payton Randall born on March 27th to my brother and sister-in-law. Welcome little one!

I am now sharing another one of the wonderful baby shower treats and one of the best sugar cookies ever!

These cookies are those amazing cookies you can buy at the grocery store, they are called Lofthouse Sugar Cookies, not sure if this is the exact recipe, I am just copying, from another copy, but I will say they taste just like them.  I made a few different versions and am only posting the one we like the best.

Lofthouse Sugar Cookies, copy cat recipe
found at Two Peas and Their Pod; originally from Recipe Secrets

6 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups sour cream

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

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and sour cream and beat at low speed until combined.

Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, scraping down the bowl as needed. Dough will be a little sticky and that is ok. Divide dough into two sections. Flatten into rectangles about 1-1/2 inches thick, then wrap with plastic wrap or wax paper. Chill in the refrigerator overnight or for at least two hours.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line large baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

Lightly flour the counter top and the top of the dough. With a rolling pin, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Using cookie cutters, cut out the cookies and place on prepared baking sheets. Bake for 7 minutes, until cookies are slightly golden around the edges. Immediately transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Cool cookies completely before frosting.

Lofthouse Frosting
originally from Recipe Secrets

4 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 cup shortening
5 tbsp milk (or more if needed)
1 tsp vanilla extract (or for an almond taste use almond extract instead of vanilla)
Food coloring, optional
Sprinkles, a MUST!

In a large bowl, cream together the confectioners sugar and shortening until smooth. Gradually mix in the milk and vanilla with an electric mixer until smooth and stiff, about 5 minutes. Color with food coloring. To decorate frost and sprinkle. Allow frosting to set, then store in an air-tight container.

Shirley Temple Cupcakes & The PINKEST Baby Shower Ever

We are going to be having a baby today! Well, NO not me! But my sister-in-law and my brother will be welcoming their new bundle of joy today! I can't wait to share a picture with all of you. But, before then you can enjoy these AMAZING Shirley Temple Cupcakes I made for the ALL PINK baby shower we held last month at my home. She has all boys at home; 1 husband (my brother... Lord, help her) + two awesome sons = a whole lot of boy. It was time we added some PINK to that house. (And by the way my sister-in-law HATES pink). Oh, boy! 

Shirley Temple Cupcakes
recipe found at Jennifer Cooks

1 box French vanilla cake mix (used: Betty Crocker Super Moist)

1 (12 oz.) can Diet or Regular 7-up or Sprite

2 tbsp maraschino cherry juice

1-2 drops of red food coloring

24 maraschino cherries, for garnish

1/2 cup maraschino cherries, stemmed and chopped

For Cupcakes, preheat oven to 350. Line cupcake tins with papers. Combine cake mix, soda and beat with an electric mixer for 2 minutes. Separate the batter in half and add 2 tbsp of cherry juice and drop of red food coloring to half of the cake mix. Fill the cupcake liners with half of pink mixture and half of the vanilla cake mixer and then bake. Bake according to package directions and then let cool completely before icing.

These were probably the BEST CUPCAKES I have ever made... in my almost two years of blogging! I LOVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE them and the icing on these cupcakes is what really makes them OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD. Try them and let me know how you like them!

The half pink and half vanilla cake mix is so slight, but it makes the world of difference in taste.

White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

from Magnolia Bakery Cookbook, New York City

1-1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
6 tbsp milk
9 oz white chocolate, melted and cooled to lukewarm
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups sifted powdered sugar

In a large bowl, on medium speed of an electric mixer, beat the butter until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the milk carefully and bet until smooth. Add the melted chocolate and beat well, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and beat for 3 more minutes. Gradually add the powdered sugar and beat on low speed until creamy and desired consistency.

Once cupcakes are frosted top with a stem cherry (or I used chocolate hearts for the theme of the baby shower).

CAN'T WAIT TO MEET MY NEWEST NIECE

PAYTON RANDALL

watch...out...world...here...she...comes

THIS WEEK'S CRAVINGS #74 (FREEZER MEALS) and Pastor Ryan's Bolognese from Pioneer Woman

THIS WEEK'S CRAVINGS Linky Party #74

(FREEZER MEALS)

Pastor Ryan's Bolognese from Pioneer Woman's Blog

Another Sapghetti Recipe and of course it was delicious, as always! And I am one step closer to finding a perfect Bolognese recipe. I have been looking and searching for a Bolognese sauce and this was my first one.

Pastor Ryan's Bolognese
adapted by me, originally from Pioneer Woman's Blog

1/2 cups Olive Oil
1-1/2 cup Grated Carrots
1 cup grated celery (this was added to the recipe)
1/4 cup large red onion, diced
2 lbs Ground Beef
2 tbsp dried or fresh Oregano
2 tbsp dried or fresh Basil Flakes
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup (or less) red wine
2 tbsp Worcestershire
2 cans (28 oz) tomatoes - (we used diced)
1 cup milk
Salt And Pepper, to taste
Fresh Parmesan Cheese

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or skillet over medium heat. Add grated carrots, celery and onions and cook for a few minutes. Make a well in the center of the mixture, and then add in the ground beef. Cook for a few minutes until brown, gradually stirring it into the carrot mixture.

Throw in oregano and basil. Use fresh if you have it; if you don’t, it’s fine. When the meat is browned and combined with other ingredients, make another well. Add tomato paste and let it heat. Add garlic and stir to combine.

Make a well in the center of the mixture and add red wine (we felt 1 cup was a little too much, so unless you love the tatse of red wine, I would use a little less next time). Stir together. Add Worcestershire and stir. Add canned tomatoes. Finally, pour in milk, stir, and let simmer for about 2 hours, I feel the long the better for all the flavors in spaghetti sauce to mix around.

Serve with pasta and a generous sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.
 

FREEZER TIPS: I LOVE LOVE making loads of spaghetti sauce and freezing it for later. I think I have about 6 packs of spaghetti sauce saved right now and I am LOVIN' it! I know anytime we want to throw together a pizza, make some Goulosh or of course just enjoy some plain ole' spaghetti, there is fresh sauce waiting for us anytime.

This week's theme is: FREEZER MEALS

Please only link recipes with our theme!

If you are a regular to THIS WEEK'S CRAVINGS Linky party, then link-up we're excited to see what you made this week. If you are new, please just follow our simple rules, so that everyone can enjoy the linky party! If you forget to follow the theme, your post will be deleted. Please don't feel hurt, just come back and link up a recipe that follows the theme. Thanks a million, we look forward to blogging with you!

Please Grab Our Button!!!

<a href=" http://momscrazycooking.blogspot.com/search/label/THIS%20WEEKS%20CRAVINGS" target="_blank "><img src="http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k498/Hudgens6/Buttons/ThisWeeksCravingsButton.jpg" /></a>

This Week's Cravings Upcoming Linky "THEMES"

Here is a complete list of the past and what's coming up next on THIS WEEK'S CRAVINGS!

April 2 - Easter Cookies & Treats

April 9 - Show Us Your ULTIMATE SANDWICH

April 16 - Copycat Recipes

April 23 - Picnic Recipes

Your hostess for this party are: Tina from MOMS CRAZY COOKING, Angela from Big Bear's Wife, Nicole from The Daily Dish and Kristi from Veggie Converter. We host this theme linky party every Monday (and the party stays open all week long)! We hope to inspire you to make something with our theme or get an old post notice by linking it up to the linky party below. 

The LINKY PARTY is opened ALL Week!

PLEASE do not link more then 3 recipes per week.
This week's theme is: FREEZER MEALS
Please only link recipes with our theme!

This week's theme is: FREEZER MEALS
Please only link recipes with our theme!

Hamburger Cupcakes

My nieces and nephew love to bake with me (unlike my own children, who just enjoy eating it). Lately on Friday night's while my son is golfing I've been hanging out at their house and last night was no different, except this time they asked me to bring over some stuff to make. I loaded up my laundry basket, looked up some of my "to-bake list" on Pinterest and baked this wonderful little treat. I actually came up with a huge list to make and after about five-hours in the kitchen we didn't exactly make everything we had hoped for, but there is always next Friday night! We did make these adorable little Hamburger Cupcakes, some amazing chicken strips and potatoes and a few other fun little things.

Hamburger Cupcakes
found the cake recipe at Your Cup of Cake
hamburger idea found at  In Words & Pictures by Mimi's Kitchen

(brown cake)
1 box Devil’s Food Cake Mix 
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, butter and flour large baking sheet (like a jelly roll pan). You want to make this into a very thin cake, so that you can cut circles for the "burgers".

In a large mixing bowl, lightly beat eggs. Add milk, water, oil and extract and whisk together. Sift or pour in cake mix and mix until well combined. Stir in sour cream. Fill pan with chocolate cake mix and bake for about 18-22 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

(vanilla cake)
1 box Vanilla Cake Mix
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup oil

1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
add a few drops of copper/tan food coloring

Preheat oven to 350 degrees; butter and flour the 24 muffins tins. 

In a large mixing bowl, lightly beat eggs.  Add milk, water, oil and extract and whisk together. Sift or pour in cake mix and mix until well combined. Stir in sour cream. Fill  muffin tins about 3/4 full and bake for 12-18 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
from Magnolia Bakery Cookbook, New York City

1-1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
6 tbsp milk
9 oz white chocolate, melted and cooled to lukewarm
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups sifted powdered sugar
food coloring (yellow, red and green)

In a large bowl, on medium speed of an electric mixer, beat the butter until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the milk carefully and bet until smooth. Add the melted chocolate and beat well, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and beat for 3 more minutes. Gradually add the powdered sugar and beat on low speed until creamy and desired consistency.

Divide the frosting into four bowls and color three of them yellow, red and green. We also left a very small amount in the fourth bowl white for mayonnaise, we are the mayonnaise family for sure. Plus you really need something on the bottom bun to hold the cupcake together and a thin layer of white frosting works perfectly.

Hamburger Assembly

Vanilla Cupcakes with Sesame Seeds for the "buns"
Chocolate Sheet Cake for the "burger patties"
White Chocolate Frosting tinted red, yellow and green for the "condiments"

Slice cupcakes into a top and bottom section. Use a small pastry brush to add a little bit of water to the top of the cupcake and then sprinkle the top of the cupcake with sesame seeds.

 Using a round cutter the diameter of your cupcakes, cut the chocolate cake into burger patties.

Put a small dab of white frosting "mayonnaise" on the bottom of the bun (to hold the chocolate "patty' in place) and top with your chocolate "burger patty".

Now add the condiments: Using the red frosting, spread a thick layer on top of the chocolate cake "burger patty", then add another layer on top of the red layer of yellow for the "mustard or cheese", and to help the colors not mix together, we added the green layer of frosting "the lettuce" to the bottom half of the top of the bun. We got the squeeze feeling of all the layers as soon as you put the top of the bun down and lightly push on it, all of the frosting starts to squish out the sides and you get a perfect hamburger.

Pioneer Woman's BBQ Comfort Meatballs

This has been my "go-to" recipe ever since I made them from Pioneer Woman's first cookbook. I love to make up a big batch and freeze them for later. My friend and I had a freezer cooking day a few weekends ago and this meatball recipe was top on my list. This was my first freezer cooking day in a long time and it was SO worth it, we focused on Hamburger Meat. I haven't ever done a freezer cooking day that concentrated on one type of meat and I think I really like it. We have already planned our next freezer cooking day and we will be working with only chicken.

This recipe of meatballs is delicious all by themselves but add in the scrumptious Pioneer Woman's homemade BBQ sauce and they are out-of-this-world YUM! We enjoy them this way or I've used these same meatballs in many other recipes too. We made meatball sandwiches, I've added them to Spaghetti Sauce or I just bake them up for my son on days I do not feel like cooking from scratch (like tonight). They are quick, easy and I know you will love them too (plus they beat Costco frozen meatballs any day).

FREEZER TIPS: Here are a few of my great freezer tips. I cook the meatballs half-way and then lay them out on a cookie sheet. I set the cookie sheet in the freezer for at least 3 hours (or overnight). The meatballs then freeze individually and are ready for packaging. I package about 20 meatballs per ziploc bag and then store them in the freezer. I then make up the BBQ sauce recipe and package that separately too (making sure you double bag all liquids).

BBQ Comfort Meatballs
recipe found at Pioneer Woman's Blog

INGREDIENTS FOR MEATBALLS
1-1/2 lbs Ground Beef
3/4 cups Oats
1 cup Milk
3 tbsp Very Finely Minced Onion
1-1/2 tsp Salt
1-1/2 tsp Fresh Pepper (or more if desired)

1 cup All-Purpose Flour (coating for Frozen Meatballs)
Canola Oil

RECIPE FOR HOMEMADE BBQ SAUCE
1 cup Ketchup
2 tbsp Sugar
3 tbsp Vinegar
2 tbsp Worcestershire
4 to 6 tbsp Onion, diced
1 dash Tabasco

If you are wanting to cook Comfort Meatballs right now and are not prepping this for the freezer, then Preheat oven to 350 degrees. (if you are freezing meatballs you can skip this step)

Combine all meatball ingredients (except flour and canola oil). Roll into medium-small balls and place on a cookie sheet. Place sheet in freezer for about fifteen minutes. Remove meatballs from freezer and immediately dredge in unseasoned flour.

Start heating the canola oil into a large skillet and brown meatballs, until they are just brown. You do NOT need to cook them all the way. Place them into a baking dish (if you are cooking now) or if you are wanting to freezer them, after they are browned you can add them back to the cookie sheet and set them into the freezer to freeze for about 3 hours (or overnight). Once frozen you can package them into ziploc bags that meat your family needs. I usually do a double recipe and then freeze about 20 meatballs per bag.

To make the BBQ sauce, you need to combine all the sauce ingredients. If you are cooking right now just pour over meatballs and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. If you are doing this as a freezer recipe then package the sauce into ziploc bags and freeze until ready to use.

These Comfort Meatballs and Homemade BBQ Sauce are perfect served over egg noodles, mashed potatoes, or white rice. Enjoy!

Mini-Tart Yogurt Cups

Spring Time is a fun time for celebrating with family and friends. We always get together for family dinners and some pool time on Easter Sunday (yes, we live in California and Easter starts getting hot and it's perfect for a little dip in the pool). I know these delicious treats would be the perfect addition to our Easter Sunday Dinner.

I started this recipe with some left-over homemade pie dough from another recipe we were making on freezer cooking day; Hamburger Pie, once I had the left over pie dough I knew these would be perfect for making some mini-tart cups, next I just needed to create the filling. The filling is a pretty common filling half yogurt and half cool whip.

They are light and A-MAZ-ING!  

Mini-Tart Yogurt Cups

50/50 Vanilla Yogurt and Cool Whip

Food Coloring

Shredded Coconut

Jelly Beans

6 to 6 Mini-Tart Cups (see recipe below for crust)

Mix together 50/50 vanilla yogurt and cool whip. Add a spoonful of yogurt mixture into each mini-tart cup. Top with shredded coconut and add three jelly beans to the top. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Easy Homemade Pie Crust

from my Mother-in-Law Charlotte

2 cups flour
1 cup Butter Flavor Shortening
1/2 cup COLD water
pinch of salt

Mix flour, shortening and salt with a pastry knife (or a fork if you don't have one). Once it's all mixed together then add COLD water and continue mixing. Cut into half and roll out one at a time onto a flour surface. Roll until you get your desired thickness, then use a round cookie cutter, with a scallop edge if you wish. Place each round into a sprayed muffin tin and bake for about 12 to 16 minutes. Cool completely before adding the above toppings.

This post was sponsored by Frigidaire. When you check out Suzanne Goin's springtime recipes at www.maketimeforchange.com, Frigidaire will donate $1 to Save the Children's U.S. programs. Plus, you'll be entered for a chance to win the new Frigidaire Range with Symmetry^TM Double Ovens – featuring two large ovens (that can each fit up to a 28 pound turkey!), providing the flexibility to cook multiple dishes at the same time at different temperatures, so you can get more on the table at the same time.

THIS WEEK'S CRAVINGS #73 (CHOCOLATE... CHOCOLATE... and MORE CHOCOLATE) and Chocolate Wasted Cake

THIS WEEK'S CRAVINGS Linky Party #73

(Chocolate... Chocolate... and more Chocolate)

Chocolate Wasted Cake

Yep, I made it! And it was TO-DIE-FOR! Delicious in every way!

After our Chocolate Cake Challenge in February, I new that there were a handful of new chocolate cakes that I must add to my list and this was one of them, the Chocolate Wasted Cake. I was having a Baby Shower for my sister-in-law and she was begging for my Whopper Cake, the shower was ALL PINK and I was already making some delicious cupcakes, so I decided to make her this Chocolate Wasted Cake (but with my Whopper Cake recipe that we love) and instead of serving it at the shower I wrapped it up with a big pink bow so she could take it home and enjoy it all to herself.

One of the questions we asked her was "What do you crave the most while being pregnant" and her answer "CHOCOLATE", so what better way to indulge then with a Chocolate Wasted Cake.

Chocolate Wasted Cake
idea found at Somewhere in the Middle; original idea from Art of Dessert

Here is the Whopper Cake

cake recipe from Kevin and Amanda Blog

1 box Devil Food Cake Mix
1 pkg instant chocolate pudding mix (larger box)
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. In a very large bowl, mix together everything except chocolate chips. Batter will be thick. Stir in the chocolate chips. Pour batter into cake pan of choice (normally 2 round cake pans, so you can frost the middle). For cooking time use the back of the box directions and maybe add about 10 minutes. Use the toothpick method.

Chocolate Almond Buttercream Frosting
frosting found at Savory Sweet Life

1 cup unsalted butter (softened, not melted)
3-1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp almond extract
4 tbsp heavy whipping cream

Cream butter for a few minutes in a mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed. Sift 3 cups of powdered sugar and cocoa into a mixing bowl. Turn your mixer on the lowest speed, add in the sift ingredients until it is absorbed by the butter. Increase mixer speed to medium and add almond extract, salt, and heavy cream; beat for 3 minutes.

To decorate the Chocolate Wasted Cake: You will need several pieces of your favorite candy bars, a bag of milk chocolate chips and some melting chocolate.

We used Snickers, Whoppers, Kit Kats, Milky Way and more. Cut them all into bite size pieces. Immediately after you frost the cake and have it stacked, you can grab a handful of chocolate chips and literally smash them into the sides of the cake and work your way around the entire cake. This takes time and lots of them fall off, just pick up and do again and again until all the sides are covered.

Then start to place all of the bite size pieces of chocolate candy onto the top of the cake covering it completely as much or as little as you wish, remember you want to get "CHOCOLATE WASTED" while eating this cake. After all chocolate pieces are placed then the last step is to melt the chocolate in a microwave bowl, and start to drizzle this melted chocolate all over the top of the cake. You can use a spoon around the sides, to help get the drizzle effect all the way around.
 

EAT & ENJOY getting CHOCOLATE WASTED!

This week's theme is: CHOCOLATE... CHOCOLATE... AND MORE CHOCOLATE

Please only link recipes with our theme!

If you are a regular to THIS WEEK'S CRAVINGS Linky party, then link-up we're excited to see what you made this week. If you are new, please just follow our simple rules, so that everyone can enjoy the linky party! If you forget to follow the theme, your post will be deleted. Please don't feel hurt, just come back and link up a recipe that follows the theme. Thanks a million, we look forward to blogging with you!

Please Grab Our Button!!!

<a href=" http://momscrazycooking.blogspot.com/search/label/THIS%20WEEKS%20CRAVINGS" target="_blank "><img src="http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k498/Hudgens6/Buttons/ThisWeeksCravingsButton.jpg" /></a>

This Week's Cravings Upcoming Linky "THEMES"

Here is a complete list of the past and what's coming up next on THIS WEEK'S CRAVINGS!

March 26 - Freezer Meals (fix and freeze for later)

April 2 - Easter Cookies & Treats

April 9 - Show Us Your ULTIMATE SANDWICH

April 16 - Copycat Recipes

Your hostess for this party are: Tina from MOMS CRAZY COOKING, Angela from Big Bear's Wife, Nicole from The Daily Dish and Kristi from Veggie Converter. We host this theme linky party every Monday (and the party stays open all week long)! We hope to inspire you to make something with our theme or get an old post notice by linking it up to the linky party below. 

The LINKY PARTY is opened ALL Week!

PLEASE do not link more then 3 recipes per week.
This week's theme is: CHOCOLATE... CHOCOLATE... AND MORE CHOCOLATE
Please only link recipes with our theme!

This week's theme is: CHOCOLATE... CHOCOLATE... AND MORE CHOCOLATE
Please only link recipes with our theme!

Cheesy Bacon Ranch Dip: SECRET RECIPE CLUB

SECRET RECIPE CLUB

Cheesy Bacon Ranch Dip

It's time for the Secret Recipe Club; Group C! This is my 11th post for the Secret Recipe Club and I just love meeting new bloggers, making new things from other bloggers and enjoy everything this club have to offer.

When I am sent my blog assignment, I always jump right over and check it out. Of course, I start pinning everything I would LOVE to make, until my actual cooking day, then I usually choose just one recipe to make. My secret blog this month is Mommy's Menu. I have actually ran across this blog a time or two before, I just LOVE LOVE her weekly menu plan on the side column of her blog.

I did however read a post of her's about dinning at home; restaurant style. I am excited to try this. I already picked out my menu from her blog and I hope to do this sometime this week. We will be making Macaroni Grill Penne Rustica or Monterrey Chicken with Parmesan Roasted Potatoes and for dessert Decadent Chocolate Truffle Brownies. But, for today's recipe we will be enjoying a delicious cheesy bacon dip.

Cheesy Bacon Ranch Dip
recipe adapted by me, found over at Mommy's Menu

1 cup sour cream
1-1/2 tbsp Hidden Valley Ranch Dry Ranch Mix
3 to 4 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
small pinch of green onions, diced
1/3 cup grated cheddar cheese

In a bowl, mix all the ingredients together. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight to let the flavors blend. Serve with your favorite chips, crackers or veggies.

Here is a list of my past Secret Recipe Club recipes:

• Blueberry Muffins (Gluten-Free)
• Bean Roll-Up (extra post)
• Cucumber Salad
• Raspberry & Nutella Pizza (extra post)
• Pioneer Woman's Chicken Pot Pie 
• Frozen Breakfast Burritos
• Pink Pearl Applesauce (crock-pot)
• Peanut Butter Marshmallow Cake (extra post)
• Cake Mix Cinnamon Chip Brownies
• Sweet and Smokey Roasted Cauliflower

Slow Cooker Orange Chicken

Here is a recipe, I MUST master! My son's favorite take-out food, Orange-Chicken! Here is my first try and it was delicious. But if you know me, I won't stop at just one recipe. I will try several, so get ready for a few more Orange-Chicken recipes in the near future.

Slow Cooker Orange Chicken
found at Six Sisters Stuff

4 to 6 boneless chicken breasts, chopped into small chunks
1/3 cup flour
olive oil
1/2 tbsp salt
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp ketchup
6 oz frozen orange juice concentrate (thaw or throw it in the microwave for 45 seconds)
4 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp ginger
1 tsp red pepper flakes


In a bowl, mix the salt, balsamic vinegar, ketchup, orange juice, brown sugar, ginger and red pepper flakes. Pour the flour in a small bowl. Cover the chicken breast chunks in flour and shake off the excess.

Pour a small amount of olive oil in a skillet and brown the flour-covered chicken. The chicken doesn't need to be fully cooked since it's going in the crock pot. After the chicken is done cooking, pour the pieces into the crock pot. Then cover the chicken with your sauce mixture and give the pot a stir.

Cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 2-3. (mine took a little less time then this, my crock-pot is hot) Serve over rice and even add veggies if you want a healthier meal.