Extreme Birthday Dessert

What's the best part about celebrating birthdays?  Having a good excuse to whip together an incredibly unhealthy (but extremely delicious) dessert that comes in at around 100,000 calories per serving.  This past year my family came up to Manhattan for a K-State football game the day before my birthday, so I had them over to my apartment after the game for my birthday celebration. As I may have mentioned previously, I feel that peanut butter and chocolate is the best combination ever invented, which is why I chose this Peanut Butter Chocolate Dessert to celebrate my 22nd year. Plus, I was able to put it all together before the game, stick it in the fridge, and come back to enjoy it after the Wildcats' victory.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Dessert

Ingredients

20 Oreos

2 Tbsp. margarine, softened

1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 16-oz. carton whipped topping, thawed

16 miniature Reese's peanut butter cups, chopped

1 cup cold milk

1 3.9-oz. package instant chocolate fudge pudding mix

Directions

1. Crush 16 Oreos; toss with margarine.  Press into a 9" square dish and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, peanut butter, and 1 cup of powdered sugar until smooth.  Fold in half of the whipped topping.

3. Spread the cream mixture over the Oreo crust.  Sprinkle with chopped Reese's.

4. In another large bowl, beat the milk, pudding mix, and remaining 1/2 cup of powdered sugar on low speed for 2 minutes.  Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set.

5. Fold in the remaining half of whipped topping.  Spread pudding mixture over the peanut butter cup layer.  

6. Crush the 4 remaining Oreos and sprinkle over the top.  Cover and chill for at least 3 hours.

My Notes: I used a little more than the 1/2 cup of peanut butter to really bump up the peanut butter flavor.  Instead of miniature Reese's, I used 6 snack size Reese's cups for the filling and 4 additional snack size Reese's cups for the topping (along with 5 crushed Oreos). This recipe is from the Taste of Home website.

And here's a photo of my sister and me cheering on the 'Cats to victory over Texas Tech prior to my birthday celebration. We're smiling so big because we know that - win or lose - we will still have a delicious dessert waiting for us after the game!

Scrumptious Soups

The absolute best part of cooking in the winter?  Throwing together ingredients in the slow cooker, leaving them for a couple of hours, and coming back to a hot and delicious soup ready for the evening meal.  Though chili is one of my favorite meals, these two soups are also favorites of mine. (And yes, I'm wearing shorts in the Potato Sausage Soup photo - I might not have been able to wait until winter to make it...) 

Potato Sausage Soup

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups water

5 cups russet potatoes, peeled & cubed

2 onions, chopped

1/4 tsp. celery seed

1 tsp. salt

1 lb. pork sausage, browned, drained, & sliced

1 quart milk

3 Tbsp. parsley

1 can cheddar cheese soup

Directions

1. Combine potatoes, water, onions, celery seed, and salt in a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil and then simmer until potatoes are cooked through.

2. Combine potatoes and all remaining ingredients in a crock pot.

3. Heat for 2-3 hours or until heated through.

My Notes: This recipe comes from my Grandma Claassen.  If you do not have a crock pot, it can be prepared on the stove by adding all of the ingredients to the potato and water mixture.  Heat on the stove top until the cheese soup is melted and incorporated. I use only about 1/4 cup of onion.

Santa Fe Chicken Soup

Ingredients

2 13-oz. cans of shredded chicken or about 4 cooked & chopped chicken breasts

1 small onion, diced

15.25-oz. can whole kernel corn, undrained

16 oz. can pinto beans, undrained

14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained

10 oz. can Rotel tomatoes, undrained

1 lb. Velveeta cheese, cubed

1/4 cup milk

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker.

2. Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours, or until cheese is melted. Try not to let the soup boil.

My Notes: Serving this soup with tortilla chips crumbled on top adds a nice crunch.

Canned Biscuits & One More Apple Post...

When cooking for myself, I make a lot of half or quarter recipes so that I'm not eating one dish for an entire week.  When I only used half of a can of biscuits to make one of my favorite recipes that my mom always prepared, I decided to make a delicious dessert to complete the meal so that the biscuit dough wouldn't go to waste! These very different recipes show how versatile canned dough can be.

Pizza Cups

Ingredients

3/4 lb. ground beef, browned & drained

1 6-oz. can tomato paste

1 Tbsp. onion, minced

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp. salt

1 10-oz. can refrigerated biscuits

3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions

1. Combine the ground beef, tomato paste, onion, Italian seasoning, and salt in a skillet. Cook over low heat for 5 minutes.

2. Place biscuits in a greased muffin tin, pressing to cover bottom and sides.  

3. Spoon about 1/4 cup of beef mixture into each biscuit cup. Sprinkle with cheese.

4. Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 10 pizza cups.

My Notes: I do not typically use the onion in my pizza cups.  Be sure to buy a small size of biscuits (I usually get the Pillsbury Grands, Jr. size - not the large Grands biscuits) - otherwise you will have a large biscuit to meat ratio.

I have one final apple recipe to add to my last post, if those recipes don't use up the fall apple supply.  I greatly enjoy watching Food Network and saw this mouth-watering recipe one Saturday morning as I was stretching in front of the TV after my morning run.  The recipe is from the show Trisha's Southern Kitchen (which is currently my second favorite Food Network show - behind the Pioneer Woman, of course).

Apple Dumplings

Ingredients

2 apples

Juice of 1 lemon

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup margarine

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

8 canned buttermilk biscuits

4 tsp. cinnamon

Directions

1. Peel, core, and sliced the apples into 8 slices each.  Place in bowl of lemon juice and water to slow browning.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup of water, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, margarine, and vanilla.  Bring the sugar mixture to a boil over medium heat.

3. Separate each piece of biscuit dough into two halves.  Wrap the biscuit half around an apple slice and seal the edges.

4. Place the biscuit-covered apple slices in a 9"x12" casserole dish.  Pour the sugar mixture over top.

5. Combine the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon.  Sprinkle over top.

6. Bake at 375 degrees for about 35 minutes or until golden brown.

My Notes: The original recipe can be found here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/trisha-yearwood/apple-dumplings-recipe.html.