ORANGE CREAMSICLE POKE CAKE

I love orange creamsicles.  I'm going to have to try this cake.

 

Orange Creamsicle Poke Cake

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Yield: 24 pieces of cake

This delicious orange cake is topped with a creamy pudding topping and will not last long on your dessert table.

Ingredients:

1 white cake mix

1 cup orange juice

1 - 6 ounce box of orange Jell-o

2 cups boiling water

1 - 3.4 ounce box instant vanilla pudding

1 cup milk

1 - 8 ounce container Cool Whip

2 Tablespoons Orange Crush dessert topper(optional)

Instructions

Mix the cake mix according to the back of the box, but substitute orange juice in place of the water called for. Bake cake 25 minutes or whatever time is listed on your cake mix. Remove from oven and poke holes all over the top with a fork.
 
Dissolve the orange Jell-o in boiling water. Let cool 5 minutes. Spoon all of the Jell-o over the top of the cake, making sure it goes in the holes. Cool completely in the refrigerator.
 
Whisk together the vanilla pudding mix and milk. Fold in the Cool Whip. Spread over the top of the cooled cake. Drizzle with the orange topping and swirl gently. Cut into 24 pieces. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator.

Notes

*If you cannot find the Orange Crush topping, add a little bit of orange food coloring to 2 Tbsp. of the topping.

Recipe from Insidebrucrewlife.com.

SOFT BATCH CREAM CHEESE CHOOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Thanks to sweetlittlebluebird.com for today's recipe.  They sound so good and I just might make them today.

Soft Batch Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup salted butter, softened to room temperature
• 8 ounce block of cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups flour
• 12 oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chip 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, cream butter, cream cheese and sugars until they are smooth/creamy, then add the vanilla and mix well. Next, add flour, salt and baking soda - mix until all the dry ingredients are just blended-Do Not Over Mix! Last, add chocolate chips. Fold the chocolate chips into the dough, until just blended. Do not over mix the chocolate chips with the dough. Place heaping round tablespoons of dough on a ungreased cookie sheet approximately one inch apart. I use The Pampered Chef's Medium size scooper for the dough, it's the perfect size and I never have to touch the dough. Place cookies in the oven on middle rack and bake for 9-11 minutes, depending on your oven. Bake until cookies turn a light golden brown. Remove, place cookies on rack to cool. Store cooled cookies in an airtight container. Enjoy!

STUFFED CABBAGE LEAVES

This is one of my favorite meals.  Thanks to mooreorlesscooking.com for this great recipe.

Stuffed Cabbage Leaves

 

Prep time:  20 mins

Cook time:  50 mins

Total time:  1 hour 10 mins

 

This is a fantastic recipe for cold weather. Use any leftover ingredients that you may have in the refrigerator, such as rice or tomato sauce.

Author: Moore or Less Cooking

Recipe type: BAKED

Cuisine: American

Serves: serves 4

 

Ingredients

• 8 large cabbage leaves
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 tbsp. butter
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 2 c. minced cooked beef or pork
• 2 c. cooked rice ( I used brown rice)
• ¼ c. parsley
• ½ tsp. rosemary ( I didn't have rosemary, so I used Penzey's Bavarian Seasoning)
• I also added Penzey's Minced Garlic and Toasted Onion- 1 tsp each
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• ¾ c. gravy ( or a meat sauce~ gravy, juice or strong bouillon) I used meat sauce from the night before.
• 16 oz. can tomatoes ( I used 1- 24 oz can of Tomato sauce)

Instructions

1. Boil water in a large pot.
2. Add cabbage leaves and cook for about 3-4 minutes.
3. Carefully lift out the leaves and let drain on a towel.
4. Cut a small V out of the root end to remove the hard spine of the leaves.
5. Saute onions in butter until soft.
6. If you need to brown any ground beef, do it at this time in the same pan with the onions.
7. Drain off any fat.
8. Add seasonings, rice and gravy.
9. Stir well to combine all these ingredients.
10. Spoon about ⅛ of the mixture on each of the cabbage leaves.
11. Fold in sides and roll to make a neat sausage-shaped package ( Like a burrito).
12. Place seam-side down in a greased baking pan.
13. Pour tomatoes sauce over the rolls.
14. Cover lightly with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

SLOW COOKER CHICKEN

Thanks to the One-Pot Chef for this recipe.

The One Pot Chef strikes again, this time with a recipe that is sure to become one of your family's favorites. Best of all, it's beyond easy to make, thanks to our favorite kitchen MVP: the slow cooker. If you take five to 10 minutes to prepare the meal in the morning, you can come home to the indescribably sublime scent of waiting-to-be-devoured food. Talk about a win-win situation!

To make this comforting and savory chicken dinner, you'll need: 

2 pounds of chicken breast fillets

1 pound of small red potatoes (quartered)

1/2 pound of dutch/baby carrots (trimmed and peeled)

1/4 cup of olive oil

1/3 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon of dried oregano

1 teaspoon of onion powder

2 teaspoons of crushed garlic

1 teaspoon of salt

freshly cracked black pepper to taste

To begin, combine your olive oil and lemon juice. It's best to perform this step in a container with a spout so that you can pour out the liquid easily later.

Then, add in all your herbs and spices and stir. Don't be afraid to adjust this part of the recipe to suit your preferences.  

Next, gently place your boneless skinless chicken breasts into the slow cooker. Be sure to trim off any excess fat. 

Add in your potatoes next. While you don't necessarily need to keep them all on one side, it makes the final presentation more aesthetically pleasing.  

Do the same with the carrots. Again, the location doesn't matter, but you will get style points for a beautiful dish. 

Pour your marinade over the entire dish, taking care to give each component a sufficient amount of sauce.  

All that's left to do is cook the chicken dinner for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low. When you take the lid off, you'll be greeted with the heavenly aroma of a home-cooked meal.