Rolo Pecan Caramel Chocolate Cake Bars

I have a thing for Turtle like desserts. I mean who wouldn't? Chocolate, Caramel and Pecans need I say more? I was at Target last night for no reason at all. I just felt like going. I already have enough trouble when I go to Target with a list, but going with no list and just for fun? That is dangerous people! Well I was in the candy section and the mini bags of candy( the bags with no wrappers on the candies of Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, Rolo's, Butterfingers..etc) you know! Well, they were on sale and I needed some excuse to buy 3 bags for $8. So I decided to bake as it is Sunday and I do work I could easily pawn off a tray of deliciousness! So here we are. 


These bars are delicious, I really enjoyed them. One co-worker suggested I send them off to the Rolo factory :) 




Ingredients: 
1 Box of Devil's Food Cake Mix 
1 Stick of Unsalted Butter
1 Large Egg
1 Bag of unwrapped Rolo's 
1 1/2 Cup of Chopped Pecan's
1/2 Chocolate Chip's 
3/4 Cup of Carmel ( Melt your own Caramels, use caramel ice cream topping) 




Directions: 


1. Preheat oven to 350F and wrap a 9X13 baking dish with foil and lightly butter. 
2. In a large mixing bowl combine cake mix, room temperature butter and egg. Mix until well combined. Press into bottom of baking dish. 
3. Chop Rolo's in half and sprinkle on top of cake mixture. Sprinkle pecans, chocolate chips and pour caramel over it all. 
4. Bake for 23 minutes. Let cool completely. 

Pretzel Crusted Brownies

I like brownies. I don't LOVE them. I LOVE cookies. I LOVE chocolate. But anyways I decided to go ahead and make some brownies! These were quite scrumptious. I really enjoyed the texture of the pretzel crust. It was a nice addition. And I threw in all kinds of mix-in's really just what I had in the cupboard you could really throw in whatever you want. 




Ingredients:
1 Box of Brownie Mix or Your Fav Brownie Recipe
3 Cups of Crushed Pretzels
1 Cup Butter Melted
1/4 Cup Sugar
3/4 Cup Milk Chocolate Chips
1 Cup Chocolate Covered Toffee Chips
1/2 Cup Chopped Peanut Butter Cups


Directions:


1. Preheat oven to brownie recipe temp. Lightly grease a 9X13 pan.
2. In a large bowl mix together crushed pretzels, butter and sugar. Press into pan.
3. Make brownies according to box/recipe. Mix in chocolate chips, chocolate covered toffee bits, and peanut butter cups. (You can mix in whatever you like, this is just what I had on hand)
4. Bake according to brownie recipe.
5. Enjoy :)

recipe adapted from : Love From The Oven

Banoffe Pie

Due to my English background I am very familiar with Banoffe Pie. It is amazing and my Auntie Marguerite always makes it! Maybe because we always request it! :) The other day we had a party for my sissy's birthday and Banoffee Pie made an appearance. Some of our friends were in shock about how good it was. Thus here I am spreading the word about how simply delicious this is! And it is simple to make. 


This truly is one of my favorite desserts. And you can easily tweak it to what you have on hand, bananas, berries, pineapple...the options are endless! Enjoy!! :) 


* I used 2 full cans of cooked condensed milk, which was a bit too much but I have adjusted the recipe appropriately 


Ingredients: 


1 1/2 Cups Gram Cracker/Digestive Biscuits crushed into crumbs 
1 Cup of Butter
1 1/2 Cans of Sweetened Condensed Milk  
2 Large Bananas 
1 1/4 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream 
1/4 Cup Powdered Sugar 
1 TSP Vanilla Extract 
Milk Chocolate Bar for garnishing


Directions: 


1. Preheat oven to 300F. 
2. To caramelize condensed milk pour milk into a large baking dish ( 13X9, 12 X 2..etc) just make sure the dish fits in your large roast pan. Cover condensed milk with foil and place baking dish with condensed milk in roasting pan and fill pan with water. Bake for 2hrs until the right, beautiful caramel color. Let cool completely 
3. Turn oven up to 350F. In a small bowl mix together the graham cracker crumbs and butter, until well combined. Press into a 9 inch pie dish. Bake in oven for 8-10 minutes. Let cool. 
4. Once crust and caramel cooled pour half of caramel over the crust and place sliced banana slices over the caramel and then top with the rest of the caramel. Chill in the fridge for 20-30 minutes. 
5. In bowl of an electric mixer combine heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla. Whip on high until stiff peaks form. 
6. Top pie with fresh whipped cream.
Optional- Use a peeler on a chocolate bar to create curls for top of pie. 

Garlic Veggie Pasta

If I could eat one type of food for the rest of my life it would be Italian. Pasta, Bread, Cheese, Garlic, Tiramisu, Cannoli...the list goes on! I just LOVE it so much!! I love the creamy Alfredo sauce, a great meat sauce, and just a plain old garlic olive oil. 


The other night I wanted a quick, yummy, semi-healthy dinner. This is super easy to make. You can easily adjust to make a large batch or smaller single portions. You can also adjust the type of veggies you use based on what you already have in the house. Enjoy :) 




Ingredients: 


1 Cup of Cherry Tomatoes 
1 Cup of Chopped Asparagus 
1/2 Cup of Chopped Carrots
1 Cup of Broccoli 
1 Bag of Pasta 
1/2 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil 
1/4 Cup Roasted Garlic 
Parmesan & Romano Cheese 


Directions: 


1. In a pot of boiling water cook the pasta according to directions on pasta bag/box. 
2. In a large saucepan saute broccoli, carrots and garlic in olive oil. After a few minutes add the asparagus. Three minutes later add the tomatoes. 
3. Once the veggies are sautéed add the cooked pasta. Sprinkle with as much or as little cheese as you would like. 
4. Enjoy :) 

My healthy breakfast

Breakfast can be one of my favorite meals of the day. Basically because it can be an overload of sugar. Who doesn't love that? French Toast, Pancakes, Sausage dipped in maple syrup. Well most days I try to make breakfast my most "healthy" meal of the day. I find it easier to keep breakfast healthy then any other meal. Mostly breakfast I am by myself and I haven't had a chance to crave anything so usually I can keep myself to a healthy breakfast. Unless of course the chocolate covered pretzels, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Cookie Dough or anything else for that matter gives me a look in the fridge. Then all hell breaks loose!! :)

My current breakfast meal is Greek yogurt with almonds and fresh berries. I can't seem to get enough! I love that the Greek yogurt is thicker and has more protein. Don't get me wrong I don't do plain Greek yogurt. That is just wrong. I do vanilla and then load it up with whatever fresh berries I have in the fridge. 

At Trader Joe's you can get raw sliced almonds and they are the perfect topping to my yogurt and berries. It gives me the same kind of texture/crunch that granola would but without the added sugar. And everyone always says how great almonds are so its a win win! :)

Ingredients: 

3/4 Cup Greek Yogurt 

1 Handful of Blueberries 

1 Handful of Peaches 

Lots of Almonds 

Directions: 

1. Wash and dry your fruit. Set inside a bowl. pour yogurt over and sprinkle with as many almonds as you desire. Enjoy :) 

Biscoff Cupcakes

 The other day I was out at Trader Joe's on this whole healthy kick. My whole problem is that I tell myself that going to Trader Joe's is healthy, which it very well can be or the evil sugar devil comes and haunts me and I buy every item with sugar in it!! OR one of the workers tells me hey look at this chocolate stuffed french toast. How do you say no to chocolate stuffed french toast? The answer is YOU DON'T! 


Anyways I came across TJ Cookie Butter which I assumed was similar to Biscoff Spread. And yes it is, this smashed up cookie goodness is even easier for me to get my hands on. 


Today I needed some cupcakes and I looked in the cupboard and saw the Cookie butter. Just then I remembered of some Biscoff Cupcakes Jenny made over on Picky Palate. I looked up her recipe and went straight to baking. 


These little scrumptious cakes are amazing! So yummy!


Ingredients: 
Cupcakes: 
1 Cup AP Flour 
1 Cup Granulated Sugar 
1/2 TSP Salt 
1/2 TSP Baking Soda 
1/2 Cup Canola Oil 
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
1/2 Cup Biscoff Spread 
2 Large Eggs
2 TSP Pure Vanilla Extract 
Buttercream: 
2 Sticks Unsalted Butter at room temp. 
1/4 Cup Biscoff Spread 
4 Cups Powdered Sugar Sifted
2 Tablespoons milk


Directions: 


1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a cupcake pan with liners. 
2. In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, salt & baking soda. 
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine oil, sour cream, Biscoff spread, eggs and vanilla. Mix until well combined. Slowly add dry ingredients until all well combined. 
4. Scoop batter into cupcake liners until 3/4 full. Bake for 18-22 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting. 
5. Once cupcakes are cooled begin buttercream. In the bowl of an electric mixer beat butter and Biscoff until creamy and smooth. About two minutes. Slowly add powdered sugar and milk until desired consistency is reached. Frost cupcakes and enjoy :)

Recipe adapted from Picky Palate