Pumpking Gooey Butter Cake

I've taken a little hiatus from blogging the last few months. My real job has been a little hectic lately but tis the holiday season and the best time to blog! I've been pumped up with pumpkin, holly, and spiced things with the kick off being Paula Deen's uber yummy Gooey Butter Cake. Is it cheesecake? Pumpkin pie? or Cake? Neither yet all three in one! No tweaks to this because it's perfectly sinful as is.  Enjoy kiddies...

Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake

Cake:
1 18.25 oz pkg yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 tbs melted butter
Filling:
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese
1 15 oz can pumpkin
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
8 tbs melted butter
1 16 oz box powdered sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine cake ingredients and mix with electric mixer. Press into bottom of greased 13 x 9 baking dish.
For filling:  Beat cream cheese and pumpkin til smooth.  Beat in eggs, vanilla, and butter.  Add powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg.  Spread filling over cake batter and bake 40 - 50 mins. Do not overbake.  Center should be a little gooey.

Original recipe by Paula Deen

Oreo Heaven Cake (Poke Cake)

You ever had one of those days when you wake up thinking "I need cake"?  I had one of those days this week but also had one of those "don't feel like doing anything" days too.  I found this recipe for Oreo Poke Cake that is sooo easy and sooo good that I have to fight the urge to make it again this week.  Needless to say, it barely lasted a day in our house.  Oreos just happen to be Hubs' fave so this is now Oreo Heaven Cake.   I couldn't find the Oreo pudding called for in the original recipe, but I did find this:

It comes with a pudding filling mix and already crumbled oreos for the top.  The end result:  Oreo Heaven Cake

Oreo Heaven Cake

1 boxed white cake mix with ingredient to make it
1 tub whipped topping
1 pkg oreos (I used double stuff)
1 12.6 oz pkg Jello No Bake Oreo Dessert
2 cups milk

Spray and lightly flour a 9 x 13 pan. Spread the oreos in a single layer on the bottom. Make the cake mix according to directions, pour on oreos, and bake.  When the cake comes out of the oven, start to make the pudding.  Use the filling mix from the kit and mix with milk.  Add about a third of the cookie crumbs (crust base) from the kit.  Poke holes in the cake with a wooden spoon about 1" apart and spread pudding over.  Chill.  Before serving, spread with whipped topping and sprinkle with crumbled oreos that came with kit.  Serve.


Tweaked from Confessions Of A Cookbook Queen

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies

For the last few days, I've been...well...blah.  Kinda off, kinda bummin', kinda...blah.  It's just been a few of those kinds of days.  Today I decided to dust myself off and bake something yummy.  A dear friend has been sending me home from the stable with baked goods and I have a rule about not returning containers empty.  I've been wanting to test out this recipe for two reasons.  First, it looked uber easy and second, I couldn't wait to add Reese's pieces to the batter.  It came out phenomenal.  Operation pick me up:  Success!

 

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies

1 1/4 cup white chocolate chips
5 tbs butter
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup reese's pieces

In a small saucepan, melt the butter and 3/4 cup of the white chips on low til just melted.  In a mixing bowl, beat sugar, vanilla and eggs to combine and add the melted chips/butter til blended.  Add flour, salt, and baking powder and mix to just combine.  Add the rest of the chips and reese's pieces and bake in a greased 9 x 9 pan at preheated 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Tweaked from Cookies & Cups

Slow Cooker Ribs With Homemade BBQ Sauce

Landscaping has really been booming this week so hubs and I both have been putting in 12 hour days.  The first half of my day, of course, being spent working at the stable then doting on the new addition to the family, Patron Viho (Fresian Percheron Cross), after I clock out.


Our Horse, Patron Viho

 My slow cooker this week has been a life saver and I've got this homemade bbq sauce thing down.  Ribs are good after 6 hours but will fall off the bone at 8 :)

 

Slow Cooker Ribs With Homemade BBQ Sauce

 

3-4 lbs ribs

1 c ketchup

1/2 c water

3 tbs vinegar

3 tbs worcestershire

1 tsp dijon mustard

3 tbs molasses or agave nectar

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder, divided

1 1/2 tsp onion powder, divided

 

Preheat oven to 350. Sprinkle ribs with 1/2 tsp each garlic and onion powder.  Bake for 30 mins, flipping once halfway through.  Heat rest of ingredients in small saucepan ten minutes until slightly thickened, stirring.  Place ribs in slow cooker, cover with sauce.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

 

Tweaked from All Recipes



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Semi-Homemade Butter Cake With Buttercream Frosting

The man's birthday is here.  I  did a semi-homemade cake using a boxed mix as a starter.  No dealing with cake flours, sifting, powders all over the counter.  Genius right?  It came out fabulous and I just had to cover it with sprinkles.  I got the recipe from a book a dear friend let me borrow titled Cake Mix Doctor  and I'm addicted to it.  Seriously, I can't stop reading it.  You would think it had a plot and dramatic ending.  Well, it will be dramatic when she has to tear it from my clutches because I don't want to return it.  I may just bury it in the yard...after we finish eating the cake of course.

Basic Butter Cake

1 package white cake mix
1 cup whole milk
8 tbs melted butter
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 and grease 2 round cake pans and set aside.  Place cake mix, milk, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla in large bowl.  Blend with electric mixer on low for one minute then medium for two minutes.  Batter should be thick.  Divide between two pans and smooth.  Bake 25-27 minutes til golden brown and springs back when lightly pressed.  Cool for 10 minutes in pans.  Remove from pans and cool on rack completely before frosting.

Buttercream Frosting

8 tbs room temp butter
3 3/4 cups confectioner's sugar
3 or 4 tbs milk
2 tsp vanilla

Blend butter with mixer on low until fluffy, about 30 seconds.  Add sugar, 3 tbs of milk, and vanilla.  Blend 1 minute on low then 1 minute on medium.  Blend in more milk if too stiff.

Original Recipe found in The Cake Mix Doctor

No Bake White Chocolate Peanut Butter Squares

It's Friday afternoon and suddenly I'm dying for peanut butter squares.  Hubs and I are both white chocolate fanatics so this fab recipe I make at Holiday time pops into my mind.  I found the original recipe here a few years ago and make it when tis not the season with rainbow candy sprinkles.  Here's the debocle.  I open the pantry and low and behold, no grahams.   But I did see this. 

So I did it...and it rocks!  So much easier to make gluten free by using the cereal as opposed to buying gluten free graham crackers.  This will be the first time the man's having these so it will be interesting to see what he thinks.  These are wicked easy and fast...and yummy! I've also made them using dark chocolate and milk chocolate but white is my favorite :)

Peanut Butter Yummies

 

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Squares

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup crushed crisp rice cereal
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup white chocolate chips
Rainbow candy sprinkles

Mix cereal and sugar together in large bowl.  Melt butter in small saucepan and add peanut butter to melt and combine.  Add to sugar/cereal.  Mix and spread in ungreased 8 x 8 glass dish.
Melt chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly.  Spread evenly over peanut butter base and sprinkle with candy.  Chill to set.

Tweaked from The Goddess's Kitchen

Baked Coconut Shrimp

The man and I try to watch what we eat.  This means we don't deprive ourselves of things we want, we just try to lighten things up a bit.  We've got this new addiction to baking things that we normally eat fried.  This recipe for Coconut Shrimp is heavenly! We eat it at least once a week.  I've tweaked from the original recipe some because hubs doesn't do hot, but I've subbed something else in place that we think works well.  This can be gluten free if you read the labels on the coconut and spices. The dipping sauce is a must!

Shrimpys!!!

Baked Coconut Shrimp

1 lb (or 1 bag 31-40ct) shrimp, deveined and peeled
2 cups coconut
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 tsp cajun seasoning
2 eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 400 and spray a baking sheet.  Rinse shrimp under cold water and pat dry.  Arrange 3 bowls:  one with cornstarch mixed with cajun seasoning; one with two eggs, beaten; one with coconut.  One shrimpy at a time coat with cornstarch, dip in egg, roll in coconut to coat well.  Bake at 400 for 15-20mins.  Flip once after 10 minutes then watch for doneness.  Shrimp should be pink all the way through.  Serve with orange dipping sauce.



Orange Dijon Dipping Sauce

1/2 cup orange marmalade
1 tbl dijon mustard
Salt to taste

Mix to combine. Serve with coconut shrimp.

Tweaked from All Recipes