Strawberry Lemonade Cake

Uhm, yes.  You did just read that title right,  STRAWBERRY LEMONADE in a CAKE!! This needs no description of how absolutely delicious it is.  It is so sweet with a tangy kick that will leave you only wanting more.  The texture was extremely moist so its just as refreshing as drinking a nice, cold glass of fresh strawberry lemonade.

This past week I turned 19, and for my birthday my older sister made me this cake. (I mean, obviously she loves me a lot) So I can't take credit for it, but it's so delicious I can't not share it with you all!

What you need:

1 Box strawberry cake mix (plus oil, water, and eggs as directed on box)

8 oz. cream cheese (softened to room temperature)

1 packet (.23 oz) of Kool-Aid Lemonade

Yellow food coloring gel (as desired for color)

2 Cups Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme

8 oz. Cool Whip Topping

Fresh Strawberries to garnish

Make cake according to box and bake in two 9-inch round cake pans as directed.  Turn finished cakes over on cake racks and allow to cool completely.

Cream together cream cheese, lemonade, and yellow food coloring until smooth.

Mix marshmallow creme in and then mix in Cool Whip until completely smooth. Refrigerate until cake is cooled.  Then cut each cake layer in half.  Alternating layers of cake with layers of filling assemble cake.  End with layer of filling.  Top with sliced strawberries.  Refrigerate and serve chilled.

Braided Nutella Bread

1/2 teaspoon yeast

1 cup warm water

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

 1 T sugar

1/2 cup Nutella

1 egg, beaten with a Tablespoon of water to use as an egg wash

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup of the water.  Let sit for 10 minutes to activate.

Meanwhile, combine flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer.  After add yeast and the remaining water, mix on low with a dough hook attachment.  Turn speed up to medium, and knead dough for about 7 minutes.

Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl.  Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap, and then set in a warm place.  The dough is ready when doubled in size - about an hour.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to form a rectangle, roughly 12 x 15"

Spread Nutella in an even layer on the surface, leaving a 1/2 inch border of dough. (I warmed my Nutella in the microwave for about 30 seconds to help it spread)  

Roll tightly and place on a parchment-lined / silicon- lined baking sheet.  Cut the dough down the middle with a knife, leaving one end intact.  

 Twist ends overtop each other, making sure to turn cut side toward the top. (Makes it look pretty :)

Cover dough loosely with plastic wrap and let sit 20 minutes.

 Preheat oven to 350 F. Brush surface of the bread with the egg wash.  Bake bread for 20 minutes.  Raise temperature to 425 F and bake until lightly browned on top, about 5-7 minutes more.  Remove from oven, and let cool before serving.

Blue Lemon

So the other night we went to see Brian Reagan in Salt Lake City, needless to say it was HI-larious! Anyways we got food right across the street from the temple at a place called the Blue Lemon. I was so impressed.  The atmosphere was very open and almost casual feeling.  But the food was incredible, and I had the best barbecue beef I've ever had in my life.   I would highly recommend it. But more importantly I was so inspired by something I didn't have.  My meal was served with sweet potato fries and it came with a brown dipping sauce. I thought it was peanut sauce! Genius right?! That is my favorite sauce in the world! It wasn't peanut sauce, but now I'm determined to try that.  It will be here in the near future.  For now, this is my meal and if you're ever in SLC..... GO!

I Love Lucy. And Cafe Rio Chicken

So this next recipe I can't take credit for.  Instead I'm going to feature a new recipe my amazing mother tried out! But I can't not give a little tribute to my momma, Lucy.  My mom is by far the most amazing woman I've ever met.  Her journey has not been easy, but if you met her you'd never know.  She never talks bad about anyone.  I mean sure, she has her hilarious sarcastic comments, but that's a whole different story.... :)  There is never a dull moment with her because we are constantly making jokes with each other.  Jokes that probably wouldn't even be funny to anyone else, but between my mom and my sisters and I we laugh for hours about the same thing! Back when we all lived at home we would have big Sunday dinners every week, and for some reason that's when the giggles got really bad.... Namely when we were just about to say a prayer to bless the food.  Someone would smirk as they bowed their head and then it would start.  One concealed laugh was contagious to all of us and before you knew it our eyes were watering. About absolutely nothing! Except the inevitable knowledge we all had that it was Sunday afternoon and we needed to pray.  My little brother would get quite annoyed with us silly girls (don't forget my mom is totally included in this!) so whenever he'd pray he would always ask Heavenly Father to please make his sisters stop giggling... which as you can imagine only made it worse :)  My mom is my best friend.  That sounds super cliche but it couldn't be more true.  Sure I had amazing girl friends but no one quite listened and understood me like my mom.  She gives the best advice, whether its cooking, shopping, sports or boys.  She always knew what to say whether I wanted to hear it or not.  There is no better example of what I want to be when I grow up than that gorgeous woman.  I love you mom!

Copy Cat Cafe Rio Chicken

2 lbs. chicken breasts

1/2 a small bottle of zesty Italian dressing

1/2 T. minced garlic

1 pkt. ranch dressing mix (mixed with 1/2 cup of water)

1/2 T. chili powder

1/2 T. ground cumin

Place all ingredients in a crock pot.  Cook on LOW for about 5 hours or until chicken is done.

Shred with fork and serve in salads, burritos, tacos... You know the drill :)

Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas

These enchiladas are not only easy but cheesy, creamy and even a little spicy! They were amazing! The green salsa this recipe calls for is made by one of my favorite chefs, Guy Fieri.  If you've never watched any of his shows then you are missing out on one of Food Network's spunkiest, coolest, suavest and sassiest chefs ever.  He can lighten up any scene, or diner for that matter.  I've been known to watch his show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives quite regularly.  I love little "hole-in-the-wall" restaurants that have incredible food! And in his show that's exactly what he pin points.  He goes into the kitchen and cooks with the chefs and of course taste tests most of the menu.  He is an incredible chef and I would happily eat anything he prepared.  Which is why this recipe caught my attention..... Guy Fieri's Salsa Verde! Its delicious! I'm working on finding other excuses to eat it now on pretty much everything! But for now these enchiladas are my favorite. I hope you enjoy! I know my neighbors and I sure did!

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 6-8 servings

 5 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup sour cream

2 cups (Guy Fieri's) Salsa Verde

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided

1 cup shredded pepper-jack cheese, divided

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

salt and pepper, to taste

3 green onions, sliced

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken

1 cup frozen corn, thawed

8 (8-inch) flour tortillas

Yummo!!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, stir together cream cheese, 1/2 cup pepper-jack cheese, cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper and green onions.

Remove 2 cups of the cream cheese mixture to another bowl; set aside.

To the remaining mixture, add the shredded chicken and corn; mix well.

Spray a 9x13 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray.  Spread a thin layer of the reserved sauce over the bottom of the pan.

Place about 1/3 cup of the chicken and corn filling in each tortilla.  Roll up and place in the prepared pan, seam side down.

Spread the rest of the reserved cream cheese sauce evenly over the enchiladas.  Top with the remaining 1 cup of cheese.

Bake, covered for about 20 minutes.  Uncover and bake about 10 minutes more, or until sauce is bubbly and cheese is melted and golden.

Garnish with additional chopped green onions, if desired.  

Banana Bread

Another one of my ALL-TIME favorites! Got some brown bananas? Don't you dare throw them away! This is a super simple recipe that takes hardly no time at all, but its so worth it! So try this out! :)

Ingredients

• 3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teas. vanilla
• 1 teas. baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional) 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mash ripe bananas with a potato masher.  Mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl.  Add in the sugar, egg, and vanilla and mix.  Add the flour, baking soda, salt, and chocolate last and mix well.

Pour mixture into a buttered 4 x 8 inch loaf pan.  Bake for 1 hour. Cool on rack.  

Also great as muffins, just cook about 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.  

Yummo!!

Grandma's Stuffed Sweet Meatballs

What better way to start out my blog then with a classic family recipe?  This recipe comes from my Grandma Ramona. She passed it on to my mom and it has always been one of my favorites!

(I'm not a food-ographer or whatever so I suggest you try out the recipe before you draw too many conclusions, its delicious!)

Mix 2lbs. of hamburger and 1 small can of condensed milk.

Prepare 1 package of Stove Top Stuffing Mix as directed.

Wet hands! (super important, the meat is way sticky so I'd just keep a little cup of water next to you and always keep your hands wet so the meat doesn't pull apart) Take large spoonful of hamburger, roll in ball, flatten and put 1 T of stuffing and wrap hamburger around stuffing.  Place in 9 x 13 pan.

Heat 2 cans of Golden Mushroom soup with 4 T ketchup and 4 T Worcestershire sauce.

Pour sauce over meatballs and bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Be generous with the sauce, I make sure to cover every inch of it. I like sauce :)

This should yield about 12 hearty meatballs.

Enjoy!