Chocolate? Peanut butter? No cooking? DONE!

Oh My!  This was probably in my top 5 desserts we have made so far!  One thing that brings Kristen and I together is our love of Oreo desserts!  Yes, we are sisters, we love each other, we like to have fun, play games, and hang out with friends, but really...we love Oreos! haha So I was feeling like a dirt pudding type dessert. I googled pudding desserts or no bake desserts and came across this masterpiece. It is an Oreo crust, a peanut butter and cream cheese layer, a chopped Reese's peanut butter cups layer, a chocolate pudding layer and Oreo crumbs to top it off.  I mean really?  If this is what they serve in heaven, I'm in! :)  I will probably make it again sometime in the summer!  It is a nice cool dessert that doesn't require turning on the stove or oven!

 Here is the recipe link: http://www.letsdishrecipes.com/2012/03/chocolate-peanut-butter-no-bake-dessert.html#.UP2SSKVeNBI

PS. I used reduced fat oreos, light whipped cream, and light cream cheese and it was fabulous!  I haven't tried it with the full fat versions but I'm guessing you cannot really tell the difference.

When all else fails...Pasta!

Last week, I'd like to refer to it as "Hell" week?  Or "chicken with it's head cut off" week?  It was one of my busiest weeks for sure!  I felt like I was running around like crazy and did not even think to plan the meal I'd be making.  I was uninspired by anything I saw on Pinterest (which is absurd, I know!), so on my way home from volunteering at 5pm the night I was to make dinner, I stopped in the grocery store and made something up.  

I decided to get some chicken breast tenderloins and saute them with some green bell peppers.  Meanwhile, I boiled some veggie pasta, which I highly suggest because it is delicious AND nutritious! :)  I then added the chicken and peppers to the pasta and tossed it all with a fabulous invention of the Philadelphia Cream Cheese company...cooking creme! Here is a link:

http://www.kraftbrands.com/philly/products/Pages/philadelphia-italian-cheese-and-herb.aspx

So all I did was put this creme in with the pasta and chicken and voila!  Easy dinner!

Cobbler, but better!

Sorry I am so behind, faithful followers! (if there are any ;))  So 2 weeks ago, when Kristen made the pot roast I made the Pioneer Woman's Chocolate Cobbler!  For those of you who don't know, the Pioneer woman is awesome! And all of her recipes look delish! (And the ones I've tried, are!) Her blog is http://thepioneerwoman.com.
So the chocolate cobbler turned out great!  How could it not, right? Warm chocolate goo and vanilla ice cream.  Fail proof in my opinion!  Kristen thought so too!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/05/a-tasty-recipe-grannys-chocolate-cobbler/

B for D (essert)!

Who doesn't love Breakfast?  This week I took a favorite breakfast item and turned it into a cake.  And I am so glad I did!  Cinnamon Roll Cake is now one of my favorite desserts!  Just like the caption written by the person who posted it to Pinterest, "It literally melts in your mouth."  This cake was so easy and soooo good.

Again, I took this recipe from a Pinterest post.  This cake is really quick and easy to prepare, and only takes about 30 minutes or so to cook.  There are not too many ingredients to it, and they are all probably ingredients you would already have at home.  One warning, it requires a LOT of butter!  This is probably what makes it so good and moist.  I followed the recipe exactly, but as I was eating and enjoying it I thought of a few variations.  If you like nuts, this would be tasty with some chopped walnuts or pecans in it.  Also, if it is served warm it would be even better with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  The hot and cold combo is one of my favorites so I will definitely have ice cream handy next time I prepare this dish.

YOU SHOULD MAKE THIS CAKE!  YOU WON'T REGRET IT!  :)

 http://cookinupnorth.blogspot.com/2011/07/cinnamon-roll-cake.html

CrockPOT Roast

Happy New Year!  Megan and I are back at it in 2013!  Hoping for a good, educational year in the world of cooking.  I got a crockpot for Christmas from my wonderful parents, so naturally I had to try in out our first week back.

This week I made the ever famous "stringy meat" as we used to call it (aka pot roast).  Deliciousness!  I prepared everything ahead of time, and what a relief it was to come home from school and everything be ready.  I combined a bunch of different recipes and things I saw all over the internet, and it turned out to be a success!

Tuesday night, as I was preparing my dinner for that evening, I started chopping veggies to put in the crockpot in the morning for our sister supper on Wednesday.  I definitely recommend doing this the night before because it took me a little while with all of the peeling and dicing.  Traditionally I have seen carrots and potatoes accompany pot roast, but I decided to add a few more things.  I did the regular white potato and three carrots, but added two diced sweet potatoes.  I also diced up a red onion and one celery stalk.

Pulling from a few different sites (mostly from the Pioneer Woman blog) I put together my own marinade for the pot roast.  I used a sprig of fresh rosemary, some dry thyme, kosher salt, 1/2cup of water, and 1/2 cup of red wine (malbec).  To prepare the meat, I rubbed it in kosher salt, then browned in a pan on the stovetop- 4 minutes on each side.  I threw all of the veggies and meat in the crockpot with the extra seasonings and liquid (and a little bit of extra salt) and cooked it on low for 8 hours.  When I got home, I turned it back on warm as I pulled the meat apart and waited for Megan.  I found out this type of meat is pretty fatty, so that was the only gripe I had.  Other than that, I was pleased with the turnout!  Megan isn't a big "stringy meat" fan, so I didn't get a rave review from her.  But Shawn and mom tried leftovers and gave me the thumbs up.  Here are a couple of pictures of the meal: