Salty and Sweet

Do you like salty and sweet together?

Then you need to make Picky Palate's Double White Chocolate and Pretzel Peanut Butter Cookies with Sea Salt, which I made for today's dessert contest at work. (I didn't place, but there were so many entries, I am not at all disappointed!)

This was my first time to sprinkle anything with sea salt, so I was a little stingy. Next time, I am sprinkling with abandon.... the taste of the salt paired with the white chocolate chips and peanut butter cookie was AMAZING.

Did you make any special treats for Valentine's Day?

Muffin Tin Italian Meatloafs

In the comments the other day, Amy from Do You Know the Muffin Pan? said she didn't have a muffin tin meatloaf recipe! The horror! :-)

Thought I'd share my recipe for Muffin Tin Italian Meatloafs. Made these last night and made the husband swoon. The way to his heart *is* through his stomach!

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce of choice (we lurve Prego Three Cheese)
• 1/2-1 cup shredded mozzarella (just how much do you like cheese??????)
• 1 egg
• Italian seasoning (I use 6 tbsp Homemade Gourmet's Italian Mozzarella Mix, but I think any Italian seasoning mixed with with crushed up crackers would do)
  

Heat oven to 350 and spray your muffin cups with Pam. Fill them with your mixture- I usually get about 9 out of a pound of ground beef.

This part is optional- but we like cheese, so I add some cheese to the top.

Annnnnnnd then I spoon on some more sauce.... love the sauce.

Bake for 30 minutes.

And voila! You've got perfectly cooked mini meatloafs! A serving is about 2, or 3 if you are a husband who really loves these!

Attn Chocoholics

A few weeks ago, I made Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes for a celebration at work, modifying a recipe I saw at the blog Kevin and Amanda. They were beyond fabulous and I was instantly famous at work with everyone stopping by my office to ask about them. I loudly professed my love for Betty Crocker Whipped Butter Cream frosting. I immediately created a blog post for them to spread the word. I was going to be The Blogger Who Made Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes Easily (a la Becky Brandon).

Not long after that, Amanda posted about making Brownie Batter Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes, so I knew I had to give them a whirl. That I wouldn't be able to sleep until I did. But I also knew that I'd be buying Betty Crocker Whipped frosting rather than tackle Amanda's complicated frosting recipe, which looked like it might be my nemesis.

The fact that it has been a week and a half since I made these and I am just now getting around to posting about them is telling.

They were good, just not as good.

The Cookie Dough cupcakes are so good, I'm afraid I'll be measuring all dessert hence forward against them. And that's really not fair to the rest of the desserts in the world.....

But anyway, if you happen to be a chocoholic, you will love these- they *are* mighty tasty.

To make the brownie batter:

1/4 cup Parkay, melted
1/3 cup fat-free sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup milk (left out of the picture! I used skim)
1 (18.25 oz) box Pillsbury Moist Supreme Devil’s Food cake mix

Combine all in a bowl and mix.


I used my Pampered Chef scoop and made balls of dough that I froze overnight on parchment paper.



The next day I made my cupcake batter.

1 (18.25 oz) box Pillsbury Moist Supreme Devil’s Food cake mix
1 (3.9 oz) pkg Jello instant chocolate fudge pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil (how much do you love the new Crisco container? No mess!)
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk (I used skim)
2 cups mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners.

Combine all ingredients except chocolate chips into a large bowl and mix. Stir in chocolate chips.

I again used my Pampered Chef scoop to drop batter into the cupcake liners, filling about 2/3rds full.

Next, take frozen brownie batter balls and press into the cupcake batter. Bake for about 25 minutes.



Once cooled, I used this Betty Crocker Whipped Chocolate Frosting to frost the cupcakes, and sprinkled with mini chocolate chips. This whipped frosting is genius- so creamy and good!

Here what they looked like frosted.

And here's what they looked like right before I polished off my first one. The brownie batter does not sink to the bottom like in the cookie dough cupcakes, but stays at the top.

They were delightful- and very very chocolate-y!

An informal poll at my office resulted as such: These were good, but I have a better chance of winning the Thanksgiving Dessert Contest with the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes....

So Far Today

I started a roast in the crock pot before I left for work. The hubs picked up a 2 pound pork loin at Wal-Mart last week before the ice hit, and we hadn't used it yet. I flipped through my new crock pot cookbook and found a recipe called 3 Packet Pot Roast that looked pretty cool, and somehow, hold onto your hats, I had all the ingredients in my pantry. Crazy! Things like this just don't happen to me.

So I was all proud of myself for getting that started and I headed out to load up the van for the day. I was getting my flavored water, my Vitatop muffin, Lipton Diet Iced Tea and a Lean Cuisine out of the outside fridge to take with me to work, and I noticed that the headphones the kids use for their listening therapy were still in the van. I was headed to the other side to get them..... when I took a spill and landed head-and-shoulder-first into the fridge.

I laid there crunched up on the garage floor for a few minutes, planning what to do if there was blood..... the hubs was in the shower and the kids were asleep.... so I thought I'd call a coworker to come get me to go get stitches.

That's how crazy I was being.

But turns out I'm fine. It's only been 26 minutes and I'm already a bit sore, so I'm for to take some Motrin. My coworker promised not to let me fall asleep for fear of a concussion. :-)

Disclosure: This post contains an Amazon affiliate link.

Using up the Hot Sauce

Remember the Buffalo Chicken Dip from a few weeks ago? I am so type A that it bugs me to have a half-empty jar of something in the refrigerator with no plans for it. So when I was reading the coupon section on Sunday morning (totally the first part of the paper I read) I ran across a recipe for Buffalo Chex Mix. (By the way, Chex, not unlike Hershey, is slacking and doesn't have the recipe on their list, or at least it's not easy to find).

Moving on.... so I'll post the recipe for you. It's tasty and although it has a kick, it's certainly not too hot. I think my kids will even enjoy it as they like spicy food.

Buffalo Chex Mix

• 4 cups Rice Chex cereal
• 4 cups Wheat Chex cereal
• 2 cups Parmesan-flavored tiny fish-shaped crackers
• 2 cups pretzel twists
• 6 tbsp butter
• 2 1/2 tbsp hot sauce
• 1 packet ranch dressing mix
• 2 tsp celery seed (I didn't use this because I didn't have any)

1. In large microwavable bowl, mix cereals, crackers and pretzels; set aside. In small microwavable bowl, microwave butter uncovered on high about 40 seconds or until melted. Stir in hot sauce and seasonings. Pour over cereal mixture; stir until evening coated. (Note: I used a square Rubbermaid container that was microwave safe- I didn't have a bowl big enough.)

2. Microwave uncovered on high for 4-5 minutes, thoroughly stirring every 2 minutes. Spread on paper towels to cool. Store in airtight container.

Happy New Year!

Yesterday we went to a football watch party and I took a dip that was gone in 60 seconds.... well, not really, but it went fast! I would have had a better picture, but several vultures swooped in and started eating.

It's super easy and I figured Sasha Says readers who are just like me and like easy stuff would love to have it.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

3 cans of Tyson chicken breast in water
1- 8 oz. block of cream cheese
1- bottle of ranch dressing
2 tbs. of butter
1 pkg. finely shredded mozzarella cheese
1-bottle of buffalo wing sauce

Mash softened cream cheese in bottom of baking dish. Drain chicken and shred a bit more. Mix melted butter with shredded chicken. Pour about 1/2 bottle of buffalo wing sauce over shredded chicken and mix (chicken should be well coated in wing sauce). Pour this mixture over the cream cheese. Pour about 1/2 bottle of ranch dressing over the shredded chicken. Add about 3/4 pkg of cheese over this mixture. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. Serve with chips or crackers.

Happy New Year to you and yours!

Recipe: Taco Cornbread Pizza

Last night I was really craving cornbread, so I made the Sasha Family Favorite, Taco Cornbread Pizza from the Kraft website.

I modify slightly, so here's how I do it.

What you'll need:

• 1 pkg. (8.5 oz.) corn muffin mix (I ONLY use Jiffy! 44 cents!)
• 1 egg
• skim milk
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 pkg. taco seasoning mix (I typically get the low sodium McCormick)
• shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 400°F. Prepare corn muffin batter as directed on package using egg and skim milk; spread into well-greased 12-inch pizza pan. Bake 8 to 10 min. or until lightly browned.

Meanwhile, cook meat with seasoning mix as directed on package.

Spread meat mixture over the crust and sprinkle with cheese.

Bake an additional 4 to 5 min. or until cheese is melted. Top as desired with lettuce, tomato, sour cream, etc.

There's just something about taco meat and cornbread together that is so yummy!