Sumptuous Sunday

Strawberry Lemonade Scones

Bacon Ranch Potato Salad

Root Beer Float Cake

Oatmeal Nutmeg Scones

Strawberry Bread

DIY Soda Icee

Whole Wheat Bagels

Frozen Hot Chocolate

Whole Wheat Pretzel Bites

Cheddar Bacon Wrapped Hamburgers

Brookies

Sorry this week I have been a little behind with the recipes, I worked every day but 1 so it didn't leave much room for trying new things, hopefully this week will be a little better.

I can't believe that I had never thought of this or seen it before now...a brownie with a chocolate chip cookie on top! This recipe was delicious but definitely very rich and a chocolate overload!! I decided that if I were to make it again I would either half the recipe for the brownie batter or use two 9x13's instead of 1 and then still put the cookie batter on top. This is a recipe that you need to have someone (or someones) to share with. I kept 3 or 4 pieces for Mom and I and took the rest to work...they were quickly gone :) And did I mention that this was my first brownie from scratch!? Besides how delicious these looked and sounded I think that was one of the major pushes for me to make these was the fact that I have never made brownies before from scratch.

Brookies

Recipe came from Buns in My Oven

Brookies

For the brownies:

(Use a box mix if you're not up for making homemade)

1 cup Butter

2 1/4 cups Sugar

4 large Eggs

1 1/4 cups Cocoa Powder

1 teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract

1 1/2 cups Flour

2 cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Pre-heat the oven to 350*F. Butter a 9x13 baking dish.

In small saucepan over low heat, melt butter completely. Stir in sugar and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Do not allow sugar mixture to boil.

Pour butter mixture into a large bowl or stand mixer, beat in cocoa powder, eggs, salt, baking powder, and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.

Stir in the flour and chocolate chips until well combined.

Set aside.

For the cookies:

2 1/4 cups Flour

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1 teaspoon Salt

1 cup Butter, softened

3/4 cup Sugar

3/4 cup Brown Sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

2 large Eggs

2 cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bow and set aside.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat together the butter, brown sugar, sugar and vanilla until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Gradually beat in the flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Line a 9x13 dish with parchment paper. Pour brownie batter into the prepared baking dish. Drop small spoonfuls on the cookie dough on top of the brownie batter.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the brownie portion comes out mostly clean.

Mormon Potatoes

In LDS culture (aka Mormon) we have several things people see as standard "Mormon." To name a few...jell-o, Mormon-Standard-Time, and Mormon (or Funeral) Potatoes. Last week someone passed away in my Mom's ward and today was her funeral. My Mom signed up to make some Funeral Potatoes for the luncheon after the viewing and funeral. We got this recipe a couple of years ago from a friend of ours (who happens to be not LDS), they were super yummy and easy (plus a little fattening too :D). The picture doesn't look like much but trust me when I say they are delicious!

Mormon Potatoes
Recipe came from Scottie

1/2 cup Butter
8 ounces Cream Cheese
1 can Cream of Celery soup
2 cups Grated Cheddar Cheese
32 ounces Southern Frozen Hash Browns, thawed

Melt butter and cream cheese in large bowl. Cream cheese does not need to be entirely melted. Beat together. Add undiluted soup. Mix. Add cheddar cheese. Mix. Add potatoes (thawed), mix.

Scrape into a 9x13 pyrex dish.
Bake at 375*F for 30 to 45 minutes, or until bubbly.

*Any cream soup may be substituted.
**Sour cream may be substituted for cream cheese.

Copycat Cafe Rio Sweet Barbacoa Pork Salad

I'm now hooked on Cafe Rio salads too...I'm not sure what I'm going to do when I go there again! At least I know how to make the dressing and it's really easy (and not that expensive either!), I'll probably start putting that on my other salads from now :)

Copycat Cafe Rio Sweet Barbacoa Pork Salad

Recipe came from Favorite Family Recipes

Copycat Cafe Rio Sweet Barbacoa Pork Salad

6 large Tortillas

Shredded cheese, Mexican blend

Cafe Rio Cilantro-Lime Rice

Cafe Rio Black Beans

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork

Lettuce (NOT iceberg, use leafy green or Romaine)

Diced tomato, onion, and cilantro (pico de gallo)

Guacamole

Sour cream

Tortilla Strips

Cotija cheese, crumbled (or you can use Parmesan)

Cafe Rio Cilantro Ranch

Here is how we put it all together: First of all, we bought the aluminum deep-dish pans (they had these at the grocery store, you will know when you see them.. they look JUST like the Cafe Rio tins). Lay a tortilla in the bottom of the pan, sprinkle cheese on it, and put in the oven at 375 for about 5 min or until the cheese is melted. Remove from oven, add beans, rice, pork, then lettuce and a little scoop of diced tomato and onions (pico de gallo). Add guacamole (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) and sour cream. Add crushed tortilla chips, a shake of Parmesan cheese, and top with a few cilantro leaves. Serve with the cilantro ranch or vinaigrette dressing and there you have it! (makes about 6 salads)

Copycat Cafe Rio Cilantro-Lime Rice

Another new recipe! Last time we had rice with our burritos but this time I decided to add the yummy rice like they have at Cafe Rio...super good and easy. We used the rice cooker but I'm sure it would still be super easy on the stove top.

Copycat Cafe Rio Cilantro-Lime Rice

Recipe came from Family Favorite Recipes

Copycat Cafe Rio Cilantro-Lime Rice

1 c. uncooked rice (long-grain, white rice)

1 tsp. butter or margarine

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice

1 can (15 oz) chicken broth

1 cup water

1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice

2 tsp. sugar

3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp. lime, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice.

Sumptuous Sunday

I've decided to start a new weekly thing (hopefully be able to keep up with it) and that is to just share all the current recipes in my list that I wish to make. Here are just a selection of what I have in my e-mail that I want to make.

White Chicken Enchiladas with Green Chiles Sour Cream Sauce

Sticky Finger Bars

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Caramel Brownie Trifle

Pesto and Crushed Tomato Shells

Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies

Blackberry Cobbler Waffles

Bean and Cheese Enchiladas

Chicken Pot Pie

Orange Chicken

Sweet 'n' Sour Chicken

Terriyaki Chicken

Parmesan Chicken Sticks

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Filled Oreo Cheesecakes

Easy Cheese Danish

Creamy Tomato Soup with Corn, Chicken, Bacon

Cheesy Pepperoni Pizza Quick Bread

Key Lime Swirl Cheesecake

Crispy Chicken Skewers

Copycat Cafe Rio Cilantro Ranch Dressing

I'm kind of a dork, the first time I went to Cafe Rio I tried the Sweet Barbacoa Pork burrito and ever since I have always gotten when I have returned. I had never tried the salad before and as such had never tried the Cilantro Ranch Dressing. This time around when I made the Sweet Barbacoa Pork I decided to be different (and a little brave) and make this dressing. Because I knew it would make a bunch I invited Ben/Sonia/family over to join us. I had Sonia try the dressing and she said that it was really good (she had tried it before). I ended up not adding the jalapeño but I think that it was still really good.

Copycat Cafe Rio Cilantro Ranch Dressing

Recipe came from Family Favorite Recipes

Copycat Cafe Rio Cilantro Ranch Dressing

1 packet TRADITIONAL Hidden Valley Ranch mix (not BUTTERMILK)

1 c. mayonnaise

1 c. buttermilk

2 tomatillos, remove husk, diced

1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro

1 clove garlic

juice of 1 lime

1 jalepeno (we like it SPICY so we kept the seeds in it, if you like it mild, just remove the seeds)

Mix all ingredients together in the blender. That's it!

Copycat Zupas Honey Bacon Club

Sorry again with the copycat recipes but when I think of something that I like I try and ether find a recipe copying it or re-create it myself. I'm learning that I like Muenster Cheese and will probably using it in more things soon! This was super yummy and I may or may not be having it for lunch tomorrow :)


Copycat Zupas Honey Bacon Club
Original Sandwich

Bagel or other kind of Bread
Turkey Lunch Meat (used Oven Roasted Honey Turkey)
Cooked Bacon (used Turkey Bacon)
Muenster Cheese
Honey Mustard
Sliced Tomatoes
Sliced Onions

Spread mustard on bread, pile with desired fillings and then grill on sandwich cooker, panini grill, stove top, or George Forman until cheese is melted and everything is warm and yummy!

Copycat Cafe Rio Sweet Barbacoa Pork

Cafe Rio, Costa Vida, etc. if you haven't tried it you're missing out. I made this copycat version back in January for my roommates and it was super yummy. It takes some time so if you are planning on making it remember to think about it a day or two before you want to eat it (or just go to Cafe Rio :D). I'm making it again this week...can't wait (my mouth is just salivating thinking about it)!

Copycat Cafe Rio Sweet Barbacoa Pork
Recipe came from Favorite Family Recipes
Copycat Cafe Rio Sweet Barbacoa Pork

2 pounds pork (we use boneless pork rib meat)

3 cans Coke or Root Beer (NOT diet)

1/4 c. brown sugar

dash garlic salt

1/4 c. water

1 can sliced green chilies

3/4 can enchilada sauce (I use Old El Paso brand, medium spiciness but any will work)

1 c. brown sugar

Put the pork in a heavy duty ziploc bag to marinade. Add about a can and a half of coke and about 1/4 c. of brown sugar. Marinade for a few hours or overnight.

Drain marinade and put pork, 1/2 can of coke, water, and garlic salt in crock pot on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily, but don't let it get TOO dry) or on low for 8 hours. Remove pork from crock pot and drain any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork.

In a food processor or blender, blend 1/2 can Coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and remaining brown sugar (about a cup, you can add a little more or less to taste..). If it looks too thick, add more Coke little by little.

Put shredded pork and sauce in crockpot and cook on low for 2 hours. That's it!
Serve as meat for burritos, salads, nachos, enchiladas, quesadillas, etc.

Blonde Texas Sheet Cake

Brea and Darrell came over for dinner on Sunday so of course I had to make a dessert :) I've been looking at this one for awhile now but knew that I needed to make it sometime when I had more people around than just Mom and I. It came together really easy--not very much work at all! We forgot to add the vanilla and almond extracts to the cake batter :( but it still had some flavor, we ended up adding more flavoring to the icing to compensate (just add till you get the flavor that you like). We really liked how moist the cake was, but we didn't like that the icing took awhile to solidify. I would suggest making it the night before you need the dessert (it tasted even better the next day) or putting it in the fridge for awhile too (Brea and Darrell did that and liked it even better).

Blonde Texas Sheet Cake
Recipe came from Sugar Betty
Blonde Texas Sheet Cake

1 cup butter
1 cup water
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk (sour cream works as well)
1 teaspoons almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup buttermilk

4 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

pinch of table salt

1 cup sliced almonds, toasted

For the Cake: Preheat oven to 300º. In a small saucepan bring butter and water to a boil. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Add hot butter mixture to dry ingredients and stir. Add buttermilk, eggs, almond and vanilla extracts to the cake mixture, blending well. Pour the cake batter into a greased jelly roll pan and bake for 30 minutes or until done.

Let cake cool for 20 minutes while preparing frosting, but remember to frost the cake while it is warm.

Frosting: In a small saucepan, bring butter and buttermilk to a boil. In a separate bowl, add 3 cups powered sugar and a pinch of salt. Add hot mixture and almond extract over the powdered sugar and whisk until the frosting is smooth. The frosting will thicken as it cools. Add more powdered sugar, if needed, to help make a thicker frosting.

If adding nuts, you can add them too the frosting before pouring over the warm cake or you can sprinkle them over the warm frosting as it cools. Cut into desired squares and serve. This cake stores well for a few days.

*Remember it cools fast and sets up quickly.

Copycat JDawg Sauce

Erin has been telling me for the longest time that I need to go with her and try JDawgs in Provo. I was struggling a little bit with the idea of spending $3-$4 for a hot dog, but she assured me that it wasn't just the hot dog but their special sauce. I still haven't actually been to JDawgs (despite the fact that it was only a block and a half from my apartment) but when I saw this copycat version of it I knew that I had to try it. It was good...I still don't think that it's worth the money that they charge-but hey I now have a recipe I don't have to!


Copycat JDawg Sauce
Recipe came from Peachtree Cooking
Copycat JDawg Sauce

3/4 C ketchup
3/4 C barbeque sauce
1/4 C honey
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp onion power
Mix together and enjoy!

Cranberry-Orange Chicken Salad

I showed this recipe to Mom and she just knew that this is what she wanted to make for our dinner on Sunday, we had about 30 people so had to 5x the recipe. It went over very well as we had only about a cup left of salad mix by the end of the night. We just cheated and bought Costco rolls to serve with the salad, some people made it into a sandwich and others just ate it plain (I've been using it for a wrap filling too!). It was really good, I wasn't so sure at first with the cranberry sauce, but it adds a great twist to the salad.

Cranberry-Orange Chicken Salad
Recipe came from Eat It Up
Cranberry-Orange Chicken Salad

2 cups cooked chicken, chopped into bite size
1 cup celery
1/3 cup chopped green onions
Zest of 1 medium orange
1/2 cup craisens
1/2 cup light mayo
1 teaspoon spicy brown mustard or coarse grain mustard
2 tablespoons jellied cranberry sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
Croissants or rolls
lettuce leaves

1. In a medium bowl, combine chicken, celery, green onions, orange zest and craisins.
2. In a separate, smaller bowl whisk together mayo, mustard, cranberry sauce, salt and black pepper. Add the chicken mixture and toss to fully combine. *This salad is best if refrigerated for several hours before serving.
3. Just before serving, add the toasted pecans/walnuts. Serve on toasted buns (with a touch more mayo if desired)and with a leaf of lettuce.

* Combine this with fruit salad and some veggies for dipping and you are set!

Cake Balls

I'm sure you've heard of Bakerella and her amazing cake balls and cake pops. For Christmas Mom bought me her book "Cake Pops" I was so excited to get it and ready to try it out. Brea and I made some for Valentine's it was a lot of fun and a great learning experience. For the family dinner we wanted to have a bit of a variety, I made these again but I wanted to have something that my Grandma could have (aka GF), we decided to try the cake balls again. I think they turned out really good and pretty too!

Cake Balls
Recipe came from Bakerella
Cake Balls

1 box cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)
1 can frosting (16 oz.)
1 package chocolate bark (regular or white chocolate)
wax paper

1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.
2. Mix thoroughly with 1 can cream cheese frosting. (It may be easier to use fingers to mix together, but be warned it will get messy.)
3. Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50. You can get even more if you use a mini ice cream scooper, but I like to hand roll them.)
4. Chill for several hours. (You can speed this up by putting in the freezer.)
5. Melt chocolate in microwave per directions on package.
6. Roll balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm. (Use a spoon to dip and roll in chocolate and then tap off extra.)

I also only melt a few pieces of chocolate bark at a time because it starts to cool and thicken. It’s easier to work with when it’s hot.

Limeade Punch

We had a family dinner on Sunday and I wanted to make a drink, we were planning on having water but I wanted to add something else. I found this one, I just noticed that they had mentioned some twists that you could make it like Sonic Cherry Limeade (which I LOVE!), I wish that I had seen it to do but it was still delicious. It suggested adding frozen raspberries but we didn't have just that so we added a Costco mix that had raspberries, blueberries, and marionberries. Another blog shared this recipe for Cherry Limeade that I might be trying soon.

Limeade Punch
Recipe came from The Girl Who Ate Everything
Limeade Punch

1 (12 ounce) can frozen limeade concentrate
1 (2 liter) bottle Sprite
frozen rasperries or sliced limes for garnish
ice

Pour the frozen limeade concentrate in a large bowl and add the Sprite. I like my punch on the tart side so I add about 3/4 of a bottle of Sprite. Add ice, sliced limes, and frozen raspberries if desired.

Got Sonic Fever? Turn it into cherry limeade by adding the juice of 1 (10 ounce) jar of maraschino cherries. Add an additional can of frozen limeade for some extra tartness and garnish with the reserved maraschino cherries.

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

These were my first enchiladas...ever! They were so so delicious! I thought that the chicken was a little dry so the only changes I would make was to have doubled the amount for the marinade. I also didn't have extra marinade at the end like it said I was supposed to, so I just threw some more honey and lime in with the heavy cream and green enchilada sauce. I liked that this recipe was so simple but still had so many flavors.

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

Recipe came from The Girl Who Ate Everything

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

1/3 cup Honey

1/4 cup Lime Juice

1 Tablespoon Chili Powder

1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder

1 pound Chicken, cooked and shredded
8-10 flour Tortillas

1 pound Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded

2 (10 oz) cans Green Enchilada Sauce

1/2 cup Heavy Cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the honey (their tip: spray your measuring spoon with cooking spray before measuring out the honey), lime juice, chili powder and garlic together and toss with the shredded chicken. Let it marinate for at least 1/2 hour (or toss together in aZiploc bag and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours).

Spray a 9X13 pan and a 9X9 pan with cooking spray. Pour enough enchilada sauce on the bottom of each baking pan to create a thin layer on the bottom. Fill flour tortillas with chicken and shredded cheese, saving about 1 cup of cheese to sprinkle on top of enchiladas.

Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with the cream and leftover marinade (you might not need to use all of the enchilada sauce depending on how saucy you like yours). Pour sauce on top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until brown and crispy on top. I served mine with sour cream, pico de gallo, rice and black beans.