Peanut Butter Cup Trifle

BEWARE: This is NOT diet food. I am not responsible for what this trifle could do to your waistline!

Using the brownies I posted earlier, I made this peanut butter cup trifle. Very similar to the pistachio one I made in the past, it came out delicious. Love the different texture the peanut butter cup added.

Ingredients:
1 batch of peanut butter cup brownies, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 (3.9 ounce) box of instant chocolate pudding
1/2 cup warm water
1 pint (8 oz) whipping cream
1 16 oz cool whip, unfrozen
caramel sauce
9 mini Reese's peanut butter cups

Directions:
Mix chocolate pudding with water until combined and set aside.
Whip up whipping cream until firm peaks.
Take 1/3 of the whipped cream and mix it into the chocolate pudding mixture.
Fold the rest of the whipped cream into the choclate mixture until combined.
To assemble the trifle, put a layer of brownie, then spoon over some caramel sauce, then pudding, then cool whip and repeat.
Garnish the top with 9 miniature Reese's peanut butter cupcakes and drizzle with caramel

Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

The husband brought home a delicious peanut butter cup brownie on Tuesday and I've been thinking about it ever since. I'm making a trifle for dinner with friends tomorrow night so I decided to try it. Of course since I'm making a trifle, I'm not going to bake it from scratch. I go the good ol' Ghirardelli brownie mix, cut up some mini Reese's peanut butter cups and the rest is DELICIOUS! So easy. You have to try it if you like chocolate and peanut butter.

Ingredients:

• 1 box of Ghirardelli brownie mix
• 12 mini Reese's peanut butter cup, cut into quarters.

Directions:

1. Prepare brownies according to box instructions.
2. Pour batter into a greased pan.
3. Dot with peanut butter cup quarters, pressing it into the batter a little.
4. Cook for as long as the box says (until a toothpick come out clean)
5. Enjoy with a big glass of milk!

Ga Kho Gung (Carmelized chicken with ginger)

I thought that since I'm a mom now, I should seriously start trying to cook like mine. Trust me, I've tried before and fail miserable every time, some how, I think I got it. I made this last night. (Now I know why Mom cooks in the garage...my house STILL smells like nuoc mam today!)

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup mam
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 chicken breast, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 tbsp ginger, shredded
• Sprachia hot sauce
  

Directions:
Put oil in to a skillet on medium high. Brown the chicken in two batches and set aside.
Put the sugar in the skillet and cook until brown. Add mam and water until boiling.
Add chicken back in and cook covered for 30 minutes.
Remove cover and cook until the sauce reduces and is thicken. Add some Sprachia hot sauce to taste.
Serve with rice.

*Don't forget to use the pot to make Com Bac 7, sisters! That's the best part!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

I got this recipe off of Allrecipes.com for chocolate cake and modified it slightly for cupcakes! It's so moist and chocolatey! I'm definitely using it again.

Ingredients

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix
• 1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs and water. Stir in the chocolate chips and fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way.
3. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes (rotating the pans half way through, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cupcakes thoroughly in pan at least 10 minutes. Take out of pan and completely cool on a cooling rack before frosting.
   

Baked Egg Muffins

I came across this recipe while browsing the web. It's really fast and really rather tasty and all you really need is your basic breakfast items to assemble. Cook the bacon the night before to save time, and simply assemble and bake in the morning. I added a bit of truffle oil before serving and it was delish!

Ingredients
-bread
-butter
-bacon
-eggs
-cheese
-chives

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Butter your muffin tin. Cut edges off the crusts of the bread and butter the bread slices. Press each slice gently into the bottom of the muffin cup. Bake for 3 to 6 minutes, depending on the thickness of the bread, until it is starting to crisp.

Remove tin from the oven, place the bacon on the bottom of each cup. Save some bacon for garnishing. Crack an egg into each cup. Season with salt and pepper, and cover with cheese.

Place the muffin tin back into the oven and bake for 10 to 14 minutes until the whites are just set, or to the desired consistency. Remove the bread cups with a spoon, garnish with chives and bacon bits.

note: I baked mine for 15 minutes because I didn't want the yolk to be too runny.

Deviled Chicken

Please siblings, if you should try any of the recipes I post, please make it be this one! I made this on a whim tonight based on things I had on hand, and it was quite a pleasant surprise! Used a recipe off of allrecipes.com but made some modifications with things I like to cook with and recommendations made by commentors. Served it on a bed of mac and cheese, and will definitely keep this recipe in my usual rotation of recipes!

Ingredients

• 1/8 cup butter
• 1/2 cup miracle whip
• 2 tablespoons spicy honey mustard
• 8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (16 ounce) package Stovetop corn bread stuffing mix

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Empty stuffing mix ontp a baking sheet or cutting board and crush the bread crumbs to minimize large pieces
3. Melt butter/margarine and mix in a small bowl with mayonnaise and mustard. Pour mixture into a shallow bowl or plate.
4. Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Roll seasoned chicken breasts in mayonnaise mixture, then dredge in stuffing mix and place in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour or until chicken is cooked all the way through.

Triple Strawberry Cupcake

I made a cupcake bouquet for Angie for V-day for a friend. Her friend likes strawberry cupcakes with vanilla frosting. So I made this cupcake from my Cupcake Doctor book called Pretty in Pink. I'm going to call it a Triple Strawberry Cupcake so it makes sense. Hahaha. I topped it with my favorite Swiss Meringue Buttercream and it was delicious. Very moist from the real strawberries.

Triple Strawberry Cupcakes (AKA Pretty in Pink)
Makes 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1 package (18.25 ounces) plain white cake mix (I used strawberry cake mix...that made it triple)
  
• 1 package (3 ounces) strawberry gelatin
• 1 cup finely chopped fresh strawberries with juice from 1 1/2 cups whole berries (see “The Cupcake Doctor Says” below)
• 3/4 cup milk
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 4 large eggs

Directions:

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Set the pans aside.
2. Place the cake mix, gelatin, strawber­ries and juice, milk, oil, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat 2 minutes more on low speed, scraping down the sides again if needed. Spoon or scoop 1/3 cup batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it three quarters of the way full. Place the pans in the oven.
3. Bake the cupcakes until they are lightly golden around the edges and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the cupcake liners, lift the cup­cakes up from the bottoms of the cups using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the cups carefully with your finger­tips. Place them on a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

The Cupcake Doctor Says…
“Although these cupcakes put the season's best berries to good use, they are also perfect for those berries that arrive at your market from far away and have little juice and less flavor than good local berries. If you are using juicy berries, drain them well and use only the juice that clings to them when the berries have been chopped for the cake and the frosting. A pinch of cinnamon picks up the strawberry flavor in the cup­cake batter.”

Source: The Cupcake Doctor, by Anne Byrn