A Themed Baker's Sunday #15

Whew! It took me a while to go through all of those LOVELY recipes! Thank you all so much for participating! This last Themed Baker's Sunday, I didn't want to make it about winning, so here are a few unique recipes that really popped!

White Chocolate Cranberry Blondies By: Life's Simple Measures

This is so different! I LOVE it! Cranberry's have had a bad rep, but they're coming back in 'style'.

Butternut Squash Bake By: The Better Baker

You always see sweet potatoes on the table but never squash! I'm defiantly making this for next year!

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies By: Cook with Sara

OOO This is a great right before Thanksgiving teaser or a great treat in between Thanksgiving and CHRISTMAS!

Turkey Cake Pops By: The Sweet Swiper

You know I am a bit biased when it comes to cake pops, they're just so darn cute!!

Mini Pumpkin Bundt Cakes with Cream Cheese Drizzle By: That Skinny Chick Can Bake!

Tell me that these are not adorable and delicious looking!! These are a must make!

Cabernet Cranberry Sauce By: The Kitchen is My Playground

I'm not big into cranberry sauce, but this recipe makes me want to try it! I'm going to be making this next year as well!!

For our next Themed Baker's Sunday, the votes are in and its................

........

........

BERRIES!

Any berry you can think of can be involved!!! 

Link up, make sure you put my button on your recipe, and go comment on other blogger's yummy deliciousness!!!

A Themed Baker's Sunday #14

A Themed Baker's Sunday Continues!!!

A Themed Baker's Sunday is back and just in time for the holidays! 

This week's theme is simple! 

THANKSGIVING! 

Anything you want: cookies, pies, turkey marinades, stuffing, yams, rolls, etc. etc. etc. Whatever you got going on the table this year, bring it to A Themed Baker's Sunday!

Red Velvet Cheesecake Swirl Brownies

I saw this recipe over at Sweet Pea's Kitchen and I had to 'steal' it from her! 

What you need:

For Red Velvet mix:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2-oz dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp red food coloring
• 2/3 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt

For Cheesecake mix:

• 8-oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

What you need to do:

1.  Preheat oven to 350F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 8 inch metal baking pan. Put a long piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan, letting the parchment extend up two sides of the pan and overhang slightly on both ends. (This will make it easy to remove the bars from the pan after they have baked.) Butter the parchment.

2. In a small, heatproof bowl, melt butter and chocolate together. Stir until combined and very smooth. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and red food coloring. Add chocolate mixture and stir until smooth. Add flour and salt and stir until just combined and no streaks of dry ingredients remain.

4. Pour into prepared pan and spread into an even layer.

5. To prepare cheesecake mixture, beat cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla extract in a medium bowl until smooth.

6. Distribute the cheesecake mixture in 8 dollops over batter in the pan

7.   Swirl in with a knife or spatula.

8.  Bake for 35-40 minutes, until brownies and cheesecake are set. A knife inserted into the cheesecake mixture should come out clean and the edges will be lightly browned.

9.    Let cool completely in pan on a cooling rack before lifting out the parchment paper to remove the brownies.

Linked to:
Sweets For A Saturday
Savory Sunday
Sweet Indulgences Sunday
Tuesdays at the Table

Chicken Bundles

Hey followers! Thank you so much for you support from last post :) I really appreciate it! 

I'm going to try to bake more and bring back THEMED BAKER'S SUNDAY!! 

Ok, I'm making a post for this simple, but awesome looking dinner idea!

Chicken Bundles

What you need:

1/2 Julienne Carrots

2 cups Cooked Chicken, diced

1/2 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese

4 medium Green Onion, diced

1/2 cup Red Pepper

1 package (6.5 oz) Garlic & Herb Spreadable Cheese, softened

1 box Phyllo Dough, thawed

Cooking Spray

What you need to do:

Preheat oven to 375.

Pan fry carrots, to slightly tender and add chicken.

In a separate bowl, while chicken is cooking, stir together all ingredients. 

When chicken is done cooking, add in carrots and chicken to your veggie/cheese mix.

Here is how you make your bundle:

I'm sorry for the background noise, I like to listen to music and my husband was putting dishes away (How sweet of him!)

Bake for 20 to 30 min until they are browned. 

Enjoy!

Red Velvet Chocolate Chunk and Drizzle Cupcakes

First off **Drool**

No seriously, these are super easy and super simple!!!

What you need:

Box of moist Red Velvet Cake Mix {I cheated, I know :(}

Whatever box calls for (i.e. eggs, oil, water)

Cocoa Powder

Either chocolate chips chunk from a bag or hand cut (I think hand cut is better, but that's just me) :)

My Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe ( added a little sweetened condensed milk this time)

Chocolate chips and shortening (or melting candy coating chocolate)

Start making your red velvet cupcakes as the box directs, but once you're all mixed up and insure there are nu clumps, add in your chunks of chocolate pieces. Also, add in just a tsp of cocoa powder to add more of a chocolate flavor. Then bake as directed.

Next:

Make the cream cheese frosting (try adding in the sweetened condensed milk, I know you don't want to open that whole can for just a few tsps, but its something different to try!) and once done pour into a Ziploc bag with one corner snipped off or a frosting gun.

Whist cooling your cupcakes, melt your chocolate on low heat on the stove top adding just a bit of milk to it so it doesn't burn or for 30 second increments in the microwave then stirring in between. Add in your shortening (about 1 spoonful) and stirring it in. If you're using candy coating chocolate then you don't need shortening. Once melted pour into a bottle with a small tip or just use a Ziploc bag with a small cut in the corner. 

Once cupcakes are cooled (make sure they are COMPLETELY cooled!!!) Start piping out your frosting. I just did simple swirl around the cupcake. Once applied, just do simple zig-zag motions over you frosting. It doesn't have to look perfect, in fact that's what makes it look nice, is just a bit of chaos. :)

That's it!!!

You're Done!!!

Go show these simple and easy cupcakes to your friends, neighbors, family and let them assume how much hard work you went through over these cupcakes! They'll never know!!

Linked to:

Sweets for a Saturday

Sooo So So Long!!!

I apologize to EVERYONE about Wish List Wednesdays, Themed Bakers Sunday, and my baking! My husband and I have been going through a rough patch. I'm sure you don't want read about it, but I'm going to vent a bit.
My husband is in the air force, a first class airmen, so brand new basically. He WAS Air Traffic Control, but he sadly has to be cross trained, meaning he has to go back to tech school to learn something else. Mostly my husbands decision, I don't want him to be miserable in a sub par job, but still... Him going back to tech school means we have to get re-stationed somewhere else! We've only been here since October of 2010. Before that I was in Mississippi for 3 months and before that Spokane (where my family is). I kind of just want to be somewhere at least for 2-3 years!
We don't know when or where he is going and we don't even know what his career will be to due to paper work.
Also, we have the worst neighbors in the world and they keep calling Soaring Heights (company we rent from  on base) to try to get rid of my dog. My dog, Triskit, was abused, he doesn't like strangers. He barks at them when he sees them in the back yard and I yell at him and he's getting better but not apparently to them.
He's gotten out a few times trying to explore and always sticks around the house and instead of calling us (which they have our number) they call security forces. Triskit was not harming anyone. Just sniffing here and there. Anyway, this part is a huge long story that I don't want to get into. All I'm going to say is that when they last called them they said I tied them up in the back yard (Not allowed on base) which I would never do to my dogs, especially if they have a fenced in yard to run around in!!! Also, once they got out of the patio and I'm 95% sure someone let them out. Not pointing fingers, but there was no way my dogs can get out unless they magically opened up the gate!

So, good news --> I started my own at home business!!! Sew N Tell  is my business, where I sew purses mostly, but clutches, pouches, aprons, anything and everything I can think of basically!! Please please please like my page and check out my things!! Here are some of the things I make!!

I do try to bake when I can though! It's just getting to post them is the tough part!!! I'm not giving up on my passion for baking or cooking, I just needed to keep myself busy whilst making some money as well. I tried having my own at home bakery, but there would have been a lot of hoops I would have had to have gone through and wouldn't have been worth it if I am leaving soon.

I hope that there are still a few people who care about my blog and that will read this. If you do, please leave me some kind of comment to motivate me to post more things on my blog, just so I know that SOMEONE is out there!
xoxo
Alyssa

Spinach and Turkey Bacon Roll

I'm backkk! I'm so sorry that I haven't posted! Some CRAZY things have been going on at the base where my husband and I are at. Things in which I haven't been happy about. So I wasn't baking! BUT This last Saturday, I had a girls night to attend to, so I made A LOT of things!!

So, Here's the first one!

What you need:
Phyllo Dough or Phyllo Pillow Puffs
8 oz. Garlic Herb cheese spread (OOORR... Mix together softened cream cheese and whatever herbs you would like!)
Parmesan cheese
Either cheddar or mozzarella cheese (which ever is your favorite!)
Minced Garlic (I live for garlic, so I added a lot!)
Fresh Spinach, chopped
Turkey Bacon
 (I made this up in my head, so I'm sorry for not using an exact measurements)

What you need to do:

Thaw out your phyllo dough if you got it frozen for 45 min. 

When thawed, Spread out. 

 Spread out your cream cheese, or garlic spreadable cheese.

 Place your Turkey Bacon on top and evenly spread out!

 Spread out your cheese all over!!

 Place your spinach on top!!

 Roll it up! (I honestly had my husband help me! He got one side and I got the other!)

I made slits across the top and added some garlic butter.

Bake at 400 for 20-35 minutes!

Marble Chocolate Treats

Want to make something super easy and somewhat fast?

This is FOR YOU!

What you need:

Graham Crackers

1 box Semi Sweet Baker's Chocolate

1/2 cup Peanut Butter

1/4 cup shortening

3 Squares Baker's White Chocolate

1/4 cup shortening

What You Need To Do:

Line a 13x9 inch baking pan with foil with ends of foil extending over sides of pan. 

Arrange graham crackers on bottom cutting as need to completely cover bottom of pan, set aside.

 Either microwave or heat on low on the stove semi sweet chocolate, peanut butter and shortening until smooth.

Repeat the melting step with the white chocolate and shortening.

Pour melted milk chocolate on top lined up graham crackers and evenly spread.

Drop dollops of white chocolate on top of milk chocolate.

With a knife, swirl through the dollops to make a marble effect.

Refrigerate for at least 45 minutes. Cut into bars, making squares.

Store tightly in container in the fridge.

A Themed Bakers Sunday # 13

Last week's patriotic theme was great!! 

There were so many amazing treats, I wish I could have picked them all!

Number 6 - There was a tie!

I picked this one because it my not be for our country, but they were patriotic none the less and I think this cake looks amazing!

Lemon/Cherry Canada Day Cake By: Trilogy Edibles

Number 6

Firecracker Cake By: The Paisley Cupcake

Number 5

Pat-Oreo-tic Pops By: Tadka Pasta

Number 4

Firework Cupcakes By: Lady Behind the Curtain

Number 3

Forth of July Cookies By: Lizy B

Number 2

 All American Apple Bites By: Miz Helen's Country Cottage

Number 1

Cheesecake Filled Strawberries By: Meg's Everyday Indulgences

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This Week's Theme: CARAMEL!

Chewy Oat Brownies

What you need:

For the Filling:

You can make regular brownies for this filling 

or (what I did)

Use a box of brownie mix. 

(I found this brand of brownies that are SO GOOD! So I couldn't resist)

For the Crumbly Topping:

1 cup Whole Wheat or All Purpose Flour

1/2 cup Quick Cooking Oats

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/4 tsp Salt

1 Egg

3/4 cup Brown Sugar

1/4 cup Vegetable Oil

1 tsp Vanilla

 What you need to do:

Preheat oven to 350.

Prepare your brownies. 

When well mixed, place in a 9x9 greased pan.

 In a large bowl, Stir together flour, oats, baking powder and soda and salt. Set aside for later. 

Stir together in another bowl all wet ingredients and brown sugar.

Slowly add dry ingredients with wet.

This mix should be moist and crumbly, not really wet.

Place crumble mix on top of brownie mix.

Bake as you would the brownies, as it says on the box, or on 350 for 30-40 minutes. Until a toothpick or knife comes out smooth. 

Linked to:
Sweets for a Saturday

Tuesdays at the Table
2 Maids a Baking

A Themed Bakers Sunday # 12

Number 6

Strawberry Coconut Ice Cream by: Purple Chocolat Home

Number 5

Strawberry Pie by: Served Up With Love

Number 4

Jello Cheesecake Trifle by: Shugary Sweets

Number 3

Strawberry Fudge Pie by: The Daily Smash

Number 2

Vanilla Cupcakes with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting By: Bites of Sweetness

AND NUMBER 1

Croquembouche Piece Montee By: Catalina Bakes

Congrats! Grab my I was featured button ---->

I was going to have this weeks theme be something that you guys voted for, BUT I want to see what everyone made/is making for 4th of July!

I want to see Red Whites and Blues! Flags! Anything and Everything Patriotic!!!!