All Recipes Archives - Page 43 of 48

Handheld Lasagnas

February 23, 2015 By Holly

I have to admit that Italian food is 9 times out of 10 going to be on my cheat day menu. I mean, can you blame me? buttery garlic bread, pastas with delicious sauces, cheese, more bread, more pasta mmm.

To me, it is some of the best comfort food in the whole world and though lasagna is one of my favorite Italian dishes, I don’t necessarily want to run to a restaurant to pick up some every time either. Also, lasagna is one of those dishes that’s not necessarily super hard to make, just a bit too time consuming for me ~~always in a hurry to get my cheat day on~~. Sooo I thought it would be awesome to make easy mini lasagnas with, get this, phyllo dough which I just love. Oh my gosh y’all these are perfect! I honestly didn’t know they would turn out as well as they did. The super crispy, flaky shell with the perfect amount of cheesy, saucy, gooey-ness of the filling. These are soo good and soo easy, you must make these 🙂

So lets start with some Italian sausage ~~I feel like this should be blurred out, a little graphic am I right? sorry mom haha~~…

Heat up your pan, and cut up the sausage into pieces stirring it around…

Once all of the sausage is warm and slightly brown add your marinara sauce…

Now for the phyllo dough, you will need to slather this stuff in butter so it doesn’t dry out…

Then with a very sharp knife, slice your dough into equal sized pieces…

See how pretty…

Gently place your dough into your muffin tins to form cups…

Place your ricotta cheese into the bottom…

Then your sausage/marinara mixture…

Then the mozzarella and all ready to go into the oven…

Baking…

Once I took them out of the oven I sprinkled a little dried thyme and basil on top of each lasagna which = perfection…

Yummy!!

Handheld Lasagna

2015-02-19 11:23:53

Yields 12

Miniature lasagnas with perfectly crispy phyllo shells.

Write a review

Save Recipe

Ingredients

2 Turkey Italian Sausage Links, Cooked.
1/2 Cup of Marinara Sauce (I Used Rao's Tomato Basil).
3/4 Cup (12 Tablespoons) of Ricotta Cheese.
3/4 Cup (12 Tablespoons) of Mozzarella Cheese.
1/2 Cup of Unsalted Butter, Melted (For Phyllo Dough).
16 Ounce Box of Phyllo Pastry Sheets (I used Athens Fillo Dough).
Dried Basil and Thyme For Sprinkling (Optional).

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
Spray 12 muffin tin cups and set aside.
If using frozen phyllo dough, make sure to let it sit out at room temperature for at least an hour so it will be thawed and pliable.
In a medium saucepan on low/medium heat, start to heat your sausage links leaving the casing on, and cut into desired sized pieces, my links were pre-cooked so I only needed to heat them.
Once sausage is either cooked through (if you are not using pre-cooked) or heated to desired temperature, remove from heat and add your marinara sauce, stirring to thoroughly coat your sausage, set aside.
Carefully roll out your phyllo dough, it is pretty fragile so take your time, then carefully divide the dough by taking off the top half of the stack of dough and setting aside, if you don't, you won't have enough for 12 tins and the dough will be too thick.
Brush or pour the butter on both sections of your dough, making sure they are well saturated so they don't dry out.
With a knife carefully cut your dough into equal sized square pieces, the size I cut made 8 for each half of dough.
Place your dough into the tins making sure to form a cup.
Place 1 tablespoon of ricotta cheese in the bottom of each cup.
Then place 1-2 tablespoons of marinara/sausage on top of the ricotta, then place 1-2 tablespoons of mozzarella on top of the marinara, you may use more or less mozzarella depending on your preferences.
Bake your cups for 12-15 minutes or until cheese has melted and the dough is golden and crispy.
I sprinkled dried basil and thyme on top of the mozzarella right out of the oven, this is optional.
Let cool a little before removing from tins, then enjoy!

HOLLY'S CHEAT DAY https://www.hollyscheatday.com/

No Bake Blueberry Cheesecake

February 20, 2015 By Holly

Ok, so the title of this recipe might be a bit of a misnomer, because in actuality you do a little bit of baking with the crust, buuuut there is no complicated baking of the cheesecake part. Also, I changed things up a bit with this recipe because it’s normally baked in a 9×13 pan but I found mini pie pans I had forgotten I had and thought that mini cheesecakes would be adorable (and delicious).

Also, because this recipe is usually enough for a whole pan I halved the recipe and it made just enough for 3 mini cheesecakes, but below I will put the full recipe so you can make a big wonderful batch of this stuff. You will notice that there are only 2 cheesecakes in my pictures instead of 3 because I may or may not have dropped one, oopsies ~~guess I really did have butter fingers hehe~~. This cheesecake recipe is all things decadent and wonderful with a buttery, crumbly pecan crust with whipped cheesecake and a blueberry pie filling poured on top, yuuuummm. This crust is also immune to my distaste of nuts in desserts because all you get is the delicious nutty flavor but not that icky crunch of biting into a big piece of one..in say a brownie (all over shivers, ewww), all I’m saying is, this stuff is good 🙂

First, lets start out with pecans (remember this is half the amount of the recipe below)…

Chop them up really fine (I used a nifty handheld chopper because I didn’t feel like getting the food processor out)…

Place nuts in a bowl, and add your butter…

Add your flour…

Mix, mix, mix (I used my hands)…

Place in your pie pans (or big pan depending upon how much you’re making)…

Bake them, and while cooling, cream your cream cheese…

Then add your sugar…

Then add your cool whip…

Mix, mix and voila you have an awesome no bake cheesecake with wonderful blueberry pie filling all over the top…

Sooo fluffy and awesome…

No Bake Blueberry Cheesecake

2015-01-30 12:28:30

A wonderful no bake cheesecake topped with blueberry pie filling and sitting on a buttery, nutty crust.

Write a review

Save Recipe

FOR THE CRUST

(Remember this recipe is for the full recipe for a 9x13 pan, I halved it for the mini cheesecakes).
1 Cup of Self-Rising Flour.
1 Stick of Butter, Softened.
1 Cup of Chopped Pecans.

FOR THE CHEESECAKE

2-(8 Ounce) Tubs of Cool Whip.
2-(8 Ounce) Blocks of Cream Cheese, Softened.
1-(21 Ounce) Can of Blueberry Pie Filling.
1 Cup of Granulated Sugar.
2 Teaspoons of Vanilla Extract.

THE CRUST

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.
Finely chop up your nuts using whatever method works best for you, I used a hand held chopper.
Place your nuts in a small mixing bowl, add your butter and your flour.
Mix all ingredients with your hands until it becomes a cookie dough consistency, mine was a bit gooier because I warmed my butter in the microwave but it was still fine.
Pat your crust into the bottom of your pan or mini pans and bake for 25 minutes, take out of the oven and let it cool completely.

THE CHEESECAKE

With a handheld or stand mixer with whisk attachment, whip your cream cheese until smooth, then add your sugar and vanilla and mix until well incorporated.
Then add your cool whip and blend until smooth.
Pour your cheesecake mix onto your crust(s) then top with your blueberry pie filling, if making the full recipe in the pan, evenly smooth out the pie filling over the cheesecake filling instead of spooning some on top like I did with the cheesecakes.

Notes

The crust is very crumbly, which is exactly the texture you're going for.

HOLLY'S CHEAT DAY https://www.hollyscheatday.com/

Baked Brie and Garlic Dip

February 18, 2015 By Holly

I know that I might have mentioned at some point my absolute love of cheese, but what I didn’t say was that my absolute most favorite cheese in the whole wide world was brie. Brie would definitely be my boyfriend, if you know, it was a human with arms and legs and stuff ~~is this getting weird?~~ Back to brie…it’s so smoky and soft and tastes amazing paired with either sweet or savory flavors, definitely like cream cheese in that regard.

Anyways, all week I had been all ‘OMG I could totally sit down and eat an entire block of cheese right now’ (there is no way that I am the only one who feels this way when stressed right?) but due to the whole being healthy thing I knew I was just going to have to wait until Sunday. Since I had all week to think about what awesomeness I could create, I thought putting some of my favorite Italian food flavors in a dip would be awesome, and true, brie is not a typical Italian cheese but dang it, it is so tasty! So of course garlic, thyme, rosemary, and olive oil went into this amazing dip, and y’all it is amazing.

Can I admit that I made another batch after eating the first one? Okay, I totally did, but the cheese is so gooey and garlicky, especially smothered on a piece of soft wonderful bread, and it’s pretty darn easy to make too. This totally kicked my cheese craving like whoa 🙂

Let’s start with the brie, and remove the rind…

FYI this is usually my view looking down, one foot on either side of her because she insists on laying right where I cook, hopeful to catch a falling piece of something, she’s too cute to tell her to move…

Now slice up your cheese, place in your pan and drizzle some olive oil over it…

Chop up your garlic…mmm garlic…

Chop up your rosemary…

Place garlic and rosemary in small bowl or measuring cup like so, drizzle a little olive oil and mix…

Sprinkle your rosemary and garlic over your cheese…

Bake it up and enjoy!…this looks like a totally awesome cheesy hot tub 🙂

Baked Brie and Garlic Dip

2015-02-17 14:19:18

Skillet baked brie and garlic dip that is addicting.

Write a review

Save Recipe

Ingredients

13.2 Ounce Package of Brie Cheese, Rind Removed and Cubed.
3 Cloves of Garlic, Finely Chopped.
2 Teaspoons Fresh Rosemary, Chopped.
1 Tablespoon of Dried Thyme.
Olive Oil For Drizzling.
Salt and Pepper to Taste.
8" Cast Iron Skillet.

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
Drizzle oil in your skillet.
Remove the rind from the Brie and cut the cheese into pieces, place in your oiled skillet.
Finely chop your garlic and rosemary and place both in a small bowl, drizzle olive oil on top and mix these ingredients together.
Spoon your rosemary/garlic mixture over your cheese, place skillet in your oven and bake for 6-8 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly, sprinkle your thyme on top of the dip and serve immediately.

Notes

I found that putting half of your cheese in your skillet, then placing into the oven for a few minutes or until it starts to melt, then removing from the oven then placing the rest of your cheese into your skillet seems to get the best results of melty-ness 🙂
You could definitely use more or less garlic depending on how much you like it, I used more because I love it.

By Holly

HOLLY'S CHEAT DAY https://www.hollyscheatday.com/

Mardi Gras Cupcakes

February 16, 2015 By Holly

It’s that time of year again folks…parades, beads, debauchery, ~~bad decisions~~ yes it’s Mardi Gras time. I have to be completely honest, the whole Mardi Gras thang wasn’t really on my radar until I moved to Louisiana where I lived for several years.

I didn’t even live anywhere close to New Orleans but right after the New Year, the unmistakable green, gold and purple beads and banners would start to pop up everywhere and my favorite was seeing people who would just redecorate their Christmas trees as Mardi Gras trees. Another constant fixture this time of year in Louisiana is the King Cake.

If you are not familiar with a King Cake, just think of a giant cheesy cinnamon-ey danish thing with a cream cheese or vanilla icing on top in the quintessential purple, green and gold colors…oh and don’t forget the little plastic baby you might find in the cake 🙂 I remember my first Mardi Gras season in Los Angeles going on a hunt for a King Cake, and not only could I not find one anywhere but no one had any idea what I was even talking about. Sooo, that’s when I decided I would make some cupcakes with the delicious King Cake in mind. These are an incredible french vanilla cake with spiced rum in the batter, topped with a butter rum glaze and a cream cheese cinnamon frosting, these are sooo moist and awesome y’all. If you’re wanting to get in the Mardi Gras mood this year, I think these will be perfect.

So let’s start with the cake mix…

Now add your pudding mix…

Now the melted butter…

The milk…

Now the eggs and vanilla…

The spiced rum and cinnamon…

Then mix, mix, mix…

Place in your cupcake liners…

Look how pretty and puffy they are…

Let’s start to make the frosting, there are 2 sticks of butter here but I ended up using 3…

Cream your butter…

Then add your cream cheese…

Cream these together, then add your powdered sugar…

Mix these together then add your cinnamon…

Butter rum glaze time… start with your butter…

Melt your butter…

Then add your water…

Then add your sugar…

Boil all of these ingredients together for 5 minutes stirring constantly…

Remove from the heat then add your rum slowly, it will sputter and spit a lot…

Stir until well incorporated…

Pour your glaze in a separate container, and dip the top of your cupcake into the glaze…

Look how pretty and shiny they are with the glaze…

Then pipe your frosting and enjoy…Happy Mardi Gras!

Mardi Gras Cupcakes

2015-02-15 20:35:16

Yields 22

French Vanilla Cupcake with a butter rum glaze and topped with a cream cheese cinnamon frosting.

Write a review

Save Recipe

CUPCAKES

1 Box of French Vanilla Cake Mix.
1 Small Box of Instant French Vanilla Pudding Mix, Dry.
1 Teaspoon of Cinnamon.
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla.
4 Eggs.
1/2 Cup of Milk.
1 Stick (1/2 Cup) Unsalted Melted Butter.
1/2 Cup of Rum (I used Captain Morgan Spiced Rum).

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

3 Sticks of Butter, Softened.
1 (8 Ounce) Block of Cream Cheese, Softened.
3 Cups of Powdered Sugar.
1 Tablespoon of Cinnamon.
1 Tablespoon of Meringue Powder (optional).

BUTTER RUM GLAZE

1 Stick of Butter.
1/4 Cup of Water.
1 Cup of Sugar.
1/2 Cup of Rum.

FOR THE CUPCAKES

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
Line 22 cupcake tins with liners and set aside.
In a bowl with a handheld or stand mixer with paddle attachment place all of your ingredients for your cupcakes and mix until all are well incorporated.
With an ice cream scoop place your batter in your cupcake liners until 3/4 of the way full.
Bake your cupcakes for 15-17 minutes or until they spring back to the touch, I took my cupcakes out at precisely at 16 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

FOR THE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

With a hand held or stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream your softened butter until smooth, then add your cream cheese and cream together.
Then add your powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until fully incorporated.
Then add your cinnamon and meringue powder (if you want) then mix all until smooth.

FOR THE GLAZE

In a small saucepan place your butter on medium heat and melt your butter.
Once your butter is melted, add your water and sugar mixing all together and boil for 5 minutes stirring constantly.
Remove from the heat and slowly stir in the rum.
Let the glaze cool down a little then dip the tops of the cooled cupcakes in the glaze.
Once all of your cupcakes have the glaze on them, place back in the fridge covered for at least 30 minutes to make sure the glaze has set before piping your frosting on top.

Notes

I used a Wilton 16" disposable piping bag with a Wilton open star piping tip for the tops of my cupcakes.
You do not have to use meringue powder, but because cream cheese frosting has a tendency to not hold it's shape once piped, I thought it might help to stabilize it.

By Holly

HOLLY'S CHEAT DAY https://www.hollyscheatday.com/

Steal My Heart Cakes

February 13, 2015 By Holly

Be still my heart with these incredible cakes ~~I am so lame, sorry~~. There is almost too much awesome going on with these wondrous cakes that I ~~almost~~ don’t even know where to begin.

First, they’re heart shaped which automatically makes them adorable, second they are made up of an incredible chocolate cake that is this close to being a brownie, and third they have my most favorite whipped frosting in the middle which, bonus! I added food coloring to, to make it pink, and pink is always a good idea 🙂 This is another recipe I saw on The Pioneer Woman, and dang, she has some super great recipes doesn’t she? Ree called these little guys chocolate devils, which definitely caught my attention and I have thought for months how super amazing these would be as heart shaped cakes for Valentine’s Day.

Also, side note, this is totally the last post for Valentine’s Day for this year I promise 🙂 Anyways, these little cakes are moist but wonderfully dense and milk chocolatey, and the fluffiest lightest most delicious frosting ever in the middle. Which, if you want step by step pics of how to make the frosting (minus the cocoa powder) go here . I made two separate batches of the cake in slightly different sized sheet pans, the first one was a little bit more narrow which made the cake much thicker and the second I initially thought was going to be too thin but they were perfect. The first batch made the cakes thick enough that I didn’t even make sandwiches out of them and just piped that gorgeous frosting on top. I also used a range of sizes of biscuit cutters to make some of the cutest littlest cakes ever, all the way to some big honking sized ones. No matter the size they were all so delicious and amazing and would make just the perfect homemade Valentine’s gifts. Happy Valentine’s Day y’all!!

First, place your flour in your bowl…

Then add the sugar and salt and mix this all together…

Place your buttermilk, vanilla and eggs in a bowl or measuring cup and mix, mix, mix…

Now in your saucepan place your butter…

Melt your butter, and add your cocoa powder…

Mix these lovely ingredients together…

Then add your boiling water and let your chocolate mixture bubble up for a bit…

Then pour this into your flour mixture…

Mix this all together to allow the chocolate mixture to cool…

Once it has cooled a bit, add your buttermilk mixture…

Mix all together and it will look like this gorgeous bowl of chocolate…

Now pour this in your pan and let it bake (this is my wider pan which yielded the thinner cake)…

Once completely cooled, remove the cake from the pan and you can start to cut out your cake pieces…

Then frost with a piping bag (or not)…

Look how pretty! and not to mention delicious…

Also, here’s after I added a smidgen of gel food coloring in pink, totally matches my mixer 🙂 …

Hello delicious!

Steal My Heart Cakes

2015-02-10 13:53:47

Beautiful heart shaped chocolate cake sandwiches filled with a delectable whipped frosting.

Write a review

Save Recipe

FOR THE CAKE

2 Cups of All Purpose Flour.
2 Cups of Granulated Sugar.
1/4 Teaspoon Salt.
2 Sticks (1 Cup) of Unsalted Butter, Softened.
4 Tablespoons of Cocoa Powder.
1 Cup of Water, Boiling.
1/2 Cup of Buttermilk.
1 Teaspoon of Baking Soda.
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla.
2 Eggs.

FOR THE ICING

1 Cup of Milk.
5 Tablespoons of All-Purpose Flour.
2 Sticks (1 Cup) of Butter.
1 Cup of Granulated Sugar.
(Optional) A smidgen of Wilton Gel Food Coloring in Pink-this stuff goes a long way.
18x13 Sheet Pan.

THE CAKE

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
Cut your parchment paper to fit your 18x13 sheet pan and spray each side with baking spray, you definitely want your cake to come out easily.
In a mixing bowl, place your flour, sugar and salt mixing together and set aside.
In a medium sauce pan on medium high heat melt your butter then add your cocoa powder stirring constantly.
Then add your boiling water to the cocoa powder/butter mixture allowing to boil up for 30 seconds.
Pour the chocolate mixture over the flour mixture and stir in to cool.
Pour the buttermilk into a bowl or measuring cup like I did, then add the baking soda, vanilla and the eggs beating the mixture with a fork.
Then add your buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture mixing until well incorporated.
Place your batter into your pan and bake for 18-20 minutes or until the cake springs back to the touch.
Place your cake in your refrigerator to cool completely.
Once cool, slide your cake out of your pan and with your biscuit cutter proceed to cut out your pieces laying on a separate piece of parchment paper.

THE ICING

In a medium saucepan, heat your milk and flour stirring constantly and remove from heat when it becomes the texture of thin mashed potatoes, let this cool completely, you can stick in your fridge to cool more rapidly.
Once your milk/flour mixture has cooled, with a handheld or stand mixer with paddle attachment beat your butter until smooth, then add your sugar and beat together until light and fluffy.
Now add your milk/flour mixture to your sugar and butter and beat the ever living out of it until it becomes the texture of whipped cream, if you choose to make your frosting pink too, now add your gel food coloring and mix until the desired color is reached.
You can either pipe or spoon your frosting onto your cake pieces.

Notes

I used a Wilton disposable 16" piping bag and the Wilton open star tip to pipe my icing.
I used biscuit cutters in heart shapes ranging from 1-3/4" the smallest to the largest that is 3-1/4".

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

HOLLY'S CHEAT DAY https://www.hollyscheatday.com/

Blushing Velvet Cheesecakes

February 11, 2015 By Holly

If you haven’t noticed yet, I just love a theme… especially a holiday one. I just knew I had to make only Valentine themed goodies for my cheat day to share all this week with you guys. Just too many cute little hearts, cards, and boxes in pink, red and my favorite…sparkly.

Cheesecake to me is an awesome date dessert, creamy, sweet and easily shared, and what’s better than cheesecake? red velvet cheesecake of course! This is a slightly lighter (in color and in taste) red velvet cheesecake with this beautiful pinkish red color that looks more like a blush and just screams Valentine’s Day. Also, the crust is an Oreo cookie, but it is just so perfect, bringing out all of the chocolate notes in the cheesecake.

These are also miniature which should be a completely separate food group in my opinion, because well, miniature food is just so fun don’t you think? These are quite simple to make and dang delicious y’all. If you want to make the whipped frosting that I put on top of these little guys go here to my Sweetheart Strawberry Cupcakes frosting but just omit the cocoa powder… well actually that sounds awesome too if you want to give that a whirl.

Start with your cream cheese…

Cream it all up…

Then add your sugar…

Then add your vanilla…

Then add your eggs…

Now add your sour cream…

Then add your red velvet cake mix…

Mix, mix, mix and look how pretty…

Oreos nicely placed in your cupcake liners…

Put your gorgeous batter on top of these guys…

Look how awesome they are baking up…

Fresh out of the oven, so yummy!

Enjoy!

Sooo good…

Oh yes…

Blushing Velvet Cheesecakes

2015-02-09 12:42:45

Yields 21

Adorable and delicious miniature blushing velvet cheesecakes with an Oreo cookie crust.

Write a review

Save Recipe

Ingredients

21 Oreo Cookies.
18 Ounces of Cream Cheese, Softened.
1/2 Cup of Sugar.
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract.
2 Large Eggs, Room Temperature.
1/2 Cup of Sour Cream.
2/3 Cup of Red Velvet Cake Mix.

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.
Line 21 muffin tins with paper liners and place a whole Oreo cookie in the bottom of each liner and set aside.
With a handheld or stand mixer with paddle attachment beat your cream cheese until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl.
Then add your sugar and combine.
Now add your vanilla extract and your eggs, mix until incorporated.
Now add your sour cream, then add your red velvet cake mix and beat until combined but try not to over beat it.
Using an ice cream scoop or spoon place your batter into your cupcake liners making sure to cover the Oreo cookies and fill your liners almost to the top.
Bake for 30 minutes, your cheesecakes will puff up and crack which is normal.
Let your cheesecakes come to room temperature and then place in your fridge for two hours.
After removing your cheesecakes from the fridge, you may pipe or spoon whipped cream on top of your cheesecakes.
Enjoy!

HOLLY'S CHEAT DAY https://www.hollyscheatday.com/

Sweetheart Strawberry Cupcakes

February 9, 2015 By Holly

Oh how I love Valentine’s Day, even when I was single ~~for a million years~~ for a while I still loved it. It doesn’t hurt that it’s a holiday that is focused on all things chocolate, pink and red, and hello, chocolate covered strawberries are seriously one of the best things (food wise) I’ve ever received for this awesome holiday.

I’m a sucker for a fun and (obviously) delicious cupcake and wanted to recreate chocolate covered strawberries with my favorite strawberry cake recipe with a whipped chocolate frosting. This cake recipe is amazing, easy to make, tastes incredible, and even tastes better after a couple days because the strawberries in the mix moisten the cake even more. I also just so happened to have a small heart shaped biscuit cutter which I cut out the middle of the cupcake and filled with the whipped chocolate frosting. Oh my gosh y’all these are so incredible and just so darn cute I can’t even handle it 🙂 These would be wonderful to make for the sweetheart(s) in your life, or heck, just treat yourself.

Start with your white cake mix and 3 tablespoons of flour…

Then add your strawberry jello mix…

Then add your eggs…

Then add your water and vegetable oil…

Then add you strawberries…

Mix, mix, mix..look how yummy and pretty…

Bake up these lovelies…

So now for the frosting..start with milk and flour…

Heat and mix until it’s the texture of thin mashed potatoes and remove from the heat…

While the flour/milk mixture is cooling, take your butter…

Whip your butter until creamy…

Then add your sugar…

Whip, whip, whip until smooth and creamy…

Then add your cooled milk/flour mixture…

And whip the heck out of it until it’s the texture of whipped cream…

Then add your cocoa powder and mix, mix, mix…

Take your cupcake and with a small biscuit or cookie cutter cut out the cute little heart shape and sprinkle with powdered sugar…

You can use a piping bag or spoon to fill the heart with chocolate frosting…

Then enjoy!

So yummy…

Delicious!

Sweetheart Strawberry Cupcakes

2015-02-08 16:40:10

Yields 24

Deliciously moist strawberry cupcake filled with a wonderful whipped chocolate frosting.

Write a review

Save Recipe

FOR THE CUPCAKES

1 Box of White Cake Mix.
1 Package of Strawberry Jello Mix.
3 Tablespoon of Flour.
4 Eggs.
1/2 Cup of Water.
1 Cup of Vegetable Oil.
1/2 Package of Frozen Strawberries in Syrup (16 Ounces) or Fresh Strawberries.

FOR THE FROSTING

1 Cup of Milk.
5 Tablespoons of Flour.
2 Sticks of Unsalted Butter, Softened.
1 Cup of Granulated Sugar.
3 Tablespoons of Cocoa Powder.

THE CUPCAKES

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
Line 24 cupcake tins with liners and set aside.
With a handheld or stand mixer with paddle attachment mix your cake mix, flour, jello mix, eggs, water, vegetable oil and frozen strawberries until well incorporated.
With an ice cream scoop or spoon, fill your liners 3/4 of the way full and bake for 18-22 minutes or until they spring back to the touch.

THE FROSTING

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat your milk and flour stirring constantly until it becomes the texture of thin mashed potatoes and remove from the heat.
Let the flour/milk mixture cool completely.
In a stand mixer with paddle attachment or hand mixer whip your butter, then add your sugar and whip together until light and fluffy.
Now add your flour/milk mixture to the sugar and butter and whip, whip, whip until it is the texture of whipped cream.
Now add your cocoa powder and whip until completely incorporated.
Enjoy this amazing whipped chocolate frosting.

Notes

Since I used light colored cupcake tins I set my oven to 375 degrees F, if you are using dark colored cupcake tins set your oven to 350 degrees F.
I used a small heart shaped biscuit cutter to make the heart shapes in the cupcakes then used a Wilton disposable bag with a Wilton 12 tip to fill the hearts.

HOLLY'S CHEAT DAY https://www.hollyscheatday.com/

Beef Burrito Queso Dip

February 6, 2015 By Holly

Part of keeping a Paleo diet (6 days a week of course) means saying a big no to cheese ~~siiiiigh~~ and I’m gonna be completely honest, saying no to cheese is way more painful than saying no to wheat products for me.

Me and cheese definitely don’t get along on a physical level, but on an emotional, psychological level we are BFFs. I’m not saying I’m highly allergic to it or anything, but I’m saying cheese is kind of like that ex we’ve all had, ~~they give you mild indigestion~~ you are better off without them, but miss them sometimes. Fortunately, thanks to my cheat day I can partake in one of my old vices in a big way ~~minus the heartache~~. This dip popped in my head one day not too long ago when I was having a major hankering for some Mexican food, most especially cheesy beefy burritos and some queso dip with a mountain of chips, mmmm, so I set my sights on making a delicious dip that encompassed all of the aforementioned awesomeness for my cheat day. I’m not patting myself on the back or anything ~~ok maybe a little~~ but the whole burrito as a dip thing was totally accomplished. It’s super cheesy, a little bit spicy ~~a little bit rock n’ roll~~ and the rice really brings the burrito texture to it. This is a cinch to make, so get some tortilla chips and some soft flour tortillas and go to town on this stuff.

Alrighty first make some instant rice and set aside…

In your giant pan, brown some onions…

Throw in your beef to brown…

Starting to get nice and brown…

Throw in your cheese (this is not all of it, I would let it melt then add more)…

Add your tomatoes…

Stir constantly on medium heat until all the cheese melts and it looks like this…

Add your rice and chiles (not pictured, oopsie)…

Stir it all up and everything is well blended…

Then nom nom nom…

Yummy…

Beef Burrito Queso Dip

2015-01-28 19:17:50

Cheesy, spicy queso dip that has all the flavors of a beef burrito.

Write a review

Save Recipe

Ingredients

1 Cup of Instant Rice, Cooked.
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil.
1/4 Cup of Onion, Diced.
3/4 Lbs of Ground Beef.
1 1/2 Pounds of Velveeta Cheese.
1 Can of Ro*Tel Tomatoes With Chiles.
1 (7 Ounce) Can of Diced Roasted Green Chiles.
(Optional) Chopped Cilantro as Garnish.

Instructions

Cook your instant rice according to the directions and set aside.
In a large pan on medium heat, heat your olive oil, add your onions while stirring constantly making sure they brown evenly.
Once the onions are browned, throw in your beef chopping and moving around until evenly browned.
When the meat is almost all browned add your chopped up cheese and tomatoes, continue to stir until all is melted and well incorporated.
Now add your rice and chiles and mix it all in evenly and enjoy!

Notes

You don't have to use instant rice, but cooking regular rice can take a hot second, I'm impatient on my cheat day what can I say? 🙂

By Holly

HOLLY'S CHEAT DAY https://www.hollyscheatday.com/

Cookie Dough Sliders

February 4, 2015 By Holly

These little bites of awesome are something I thought about doing a couple of years ago when I felt like I was seeing whoopie pies everywhere. Honestly, I’ve always felt like whoopie pies looked like a lot of trouble to make (I know, probably not), but I figured these cookies looked like the start of a whoopie pie and well, cookie dough goes well with almost everything, so boom! these chocolate cookies with chocolate chip cookie dough in the middle.

Whatever had been my expectation for these little guys was waaaay exceeded. My fear was that they would be too sweet, but honestly they’re perfect because the chocolate cookies are not overly sweet and the cookie dough gives it that nice sweet kick without overwhelming you. Also, can we discuss how darn cute they are?!!! Little handheld bites of wonderful. These were a huge hit at my office, comments of ‘evil genius’ and ‘you’re so bad for making these’ were made, buuut I’ll take them as compliments 🙂

Let’s make some chocolate cookies, start with some cream cheese…

Cream your cream cheese…

Then add your butter…

Then add your egg…

Mix, mix, mix

Then add your cake mix…

Look at that beautiful cookie dough…

Chill your cookie dough, then roll into balls then roll in powdered sugar…

All ready to go in the oven…

Now for the chocolate chip cookie dough, let’s start with some butter…

Cream your butter, now add your brown sugar…

Add your flour and vanilla…

Add your sweetened condensed milk–look at all of that deliciousness..

Mix

We will pretend there is a picture of the mini chocolate chips before I mixed them in 🙂

After the cookies are cooled, place your cookie dough in between 2 delicious cookies and enjoy…

Soo good y’all!

Cookie Dough Sliders

2015-01-28 10:11:45

Yields 15

Soft chocolate cookies with chocolate chip cookie dough sandwiched between

Write a review

Save Recipe

THE CHOCOLATE COOKIES

1 Box of Chocolate Cake Mix.
1 (8 Ounce) Block of Cream Cheese, Softened.
1 Stick of Butter, Softened.
1 Egg.
Powdered Sugar for Rolling.

THE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH

1 Stick of Butter, Softened.
3/4 Cup of Brown Sugar, Packed.
2 Cups of Plain Flour.
1 (14 Ounce) Can Sweetened Condensed Milk.
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla.

TO MAKE THE CHOCOLATE COOKIES

With a handheld or stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream your cream cheese until smooth.
Then add your butter and mix again.
Now add the egg, blend thoroughly and add your chocolate cake mix and blend until all ingredients are well incorporated--this batter will be thick.
Cover your bowl and chill your chocolate cookie dough for 2 hours in your fridge or 1 hour in your freezer--which is what I did.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F when your cookie dough is close to being chilled thoroughly.
With a spoon or small cookie dough scoop, roll out your chocolate cookie dough to about 1" balls in your hands then roll them completely in the powdered sugar, place on your cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes--do not over bake you want them gooey--I made precisely 30 cookies with this recipe or 15 sliders.
Take out of the oven and let them cool completely before putting cookie dough on them.

TO MAKE THE COOKIE DOUGH

With a handheld or stand mixer with paddle attachment cream your butter, then add your brown sugar and blend together completely.
Now add your flour, vanilla and sweetened condensed milk and blend well.
Now add your chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
With a spoon or your fingers--what I used--scoop out the cookie dough, place on your chocolate cookie then gently press the cookie dough until it is evenly placed on the bottom chocolate cookie then place the chocolate cookie for the top of the slider.
Now enjoy!

Notes

I recommend a small cookie dough or small ice cream scoop to scoop out the chocolate cookie dough to ensure that the cookies are evenly sized.
You may use regular sized chocolate chips that you chop up if you do not have mini chocolate chips.

By Holly

HOLLY'S CHEAT DAY https://www.hollyscheatday.com/

Easy Coconut Cake

February 2, 2015 By Holly

I feel like coconut is one of those polarizing foods. Either you love it or hate it, obviously I loooove it, and it doesn’t matter what it’s in either. I will eat it savory, spicy ~~on a piece of cardboard~~ and most especially sweet, preferably in cake form…it is a mild obsession to be sure.

Luckily, this obsession is shared by not only my mom but my mom’s best friend. I had been in town for the holidays and was soon heading back to L.A. and my mom’s bff (who might be one of the nicest people in the world) knew it was my cheat day, made this cake and brought it over, how sweet was that? OMG y’all this cake is oozing in awesome and all things coconut and sweet, and it is beyond moist…I have no qualms in admitting that I ate over half the pan ~~go big or go home y’all.~~ This recipe was so nicely shared with me, I feel the need to pass it along to you guys, and if you love coconut cake ~~as much as I do~~ and think it has to be complicated to make, don’t, because this is a cinch to whip up, hence the ‘easy’ in the name 😉

Start with your cake mix, eggs, oil and water…

Mix, mix, mix…

Place in your pan…

Right out of the oven and while still warm, poke holes all over it with a fork…

Pour all of your Cream of Coconut over your cake…

Spread it all out evenly…

Pour the sweetened condensed milk all over…

Spread that all out…

Let cool for a bit, then take out and spread all of that awesome Cool Whip on top…

Then sprinkle the coconut all over the top, doesn’t that look awesome?…

Enjoy!

Easy Coconut Cake

2015-01-27 11:14:21

Super moist and delicious coconut cake that is a cinch to make.

Write a review

Save Recipe

Ingredients

1 Box of White Cake Mix.
1 Cup of Water.
1/3 Cup of Vegetable Oil.
3 Whole Eggs.
1 (14 Ounce) Can of Sweetened Condensed Milk.
1 (15 Ounce) Can of Cream of Coconut.
1 (7 Ounce) Pack of Frozen Sweetened Coconut.
1 (8 Ounce) Container of Cool Whip.
9x13 Pan.

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F because I used a light colored pan, 325 if you use a dark colored pan.
I prepared the cake mix according to the box which was blend the cake mix with the water, the oil and the eggs.
Pour in your pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, mine was done at 26 minutes.
After the cake comes out of the oven and while still warm, poke holes all over the cake with a fork then pour the cream of coconut and spread evenly.
Then pour the sweetened condensed milk and spread evenly as well.
Cover your cake and place in your refrigerator until completely chilled.
When chilled cover the top with the cool whip, then cover the cool whip with the coconut.
Keep this cake in the fridge.

Notes

The eggs, oil and water that were added to the cake mix were per the instructions on the back of the box, if you use a different brand than I did it may differ so just double check 🙂

HOLLY'S CHEAT DAY https://www.hollyscheatday.com/