Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Garlic Butter Shrimp Linguine



This recipe is one of the easiest things to make and it is the most incredibly tasting homemade garlic shrimp pasta you can ever find.  It is delicious!


Ingredients:


1 lb shrimp, peeled, deveined and tails removed
3 cloves garlic, minced – divided
1 TBSP lemon zest
1 TBSP vegetable oil
3 TBSP butter
1 TBSP basil, chopped fine
4 oz dry linguine
Grated Parmesan


Directions:


Place the shrimp in a bowl and add one teaspoon of garlic, the lemon zest and the vegetable oil. Stir and let marinate while the pasta cooks.


Cook the pasta according to the package instructions, but cook for one minute less than instructed.


During the last three minutes of the pasta cooking time heat the butter in a large skillet until it foams.


Add the remaining garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.


Add the shrimp with the marinade and cook for 30 seconds, or until the shrimp are just turning pink.


Add the basil and stir to combine.


Reserve 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid, then drain the pasta and add it directly to the pan – work quickly or your shrimp will over cook.


Stir to combine, allowing the shrimp and pasta to cook the rest of the way, about one minute more. If the sauce does not coat the pasta completely add a bit of the cooking liquid to thin it out.


ENJOY!!

Emergency Garlic Bread

The other night I made the Garlic Butter Shrimp Pasta and I did not have garlic bread, but I had a few hamburger buns left over and so I decided to make my own garlic Parmesan bread and it went perfect with the pasta!  It was super yummy!!

Ingredients:

Hamburger Buns
Butter
Garlic
McCormick Perfect Pinch Parmesan Herb

Directions:

Separate the buns and spread each half with butter.

Sprinkle with garlic to taste

Top off the bun by lightly sprinkling the Parmesan Herb on the bun. 

Place in broiler for 4-5 minutes or until lightly browned.

ENJOY!!

Strawberry Squares


My mom got me a recipe book that has 101 things to do with a cake mix and let me tell you I have been trying out all kinds of things! These are the Strawberry Squares that I made last week and they were delicious!

Ingredients:

1 Strawberry Cake Mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil

Icing of your choice
Sprinkles (Optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Mix together cake mix, eggs, and oil until stiff. 

Spread the dough evenly in a 9 x 13 inch pan

Bake the squares 14-16 minutes

Let cool and then top with your favorite icing.  I used Whipped Cream Icing and topped with sprinkles. 

**You could also mix up 1 1/2 TBSP of milk and 1 cup of powdered sugar and drizzle a glaze over the squares.  You could serve warm of at room temperature. 

ENJOY!!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Death by Chocolate Cake


This cake is delicious and not as rich as you might think.  It was so moist and addicting! A must try!


Ingredients:

3/4 cup sour cream
4 eggs
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup oil
1 chocolate cake mix
1 small box of chocolate pudding
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
powdered sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Beat sour cream, eggs, water, and oil together in a large bowl until thoroughly mixed. 

Add cake mix and pudding mix.

Stir in chocolate chips.

Place batter in a greased and floured bundt pan.

Bake 45-55 minutes, or until a fork inserted into cake comes out clean.

While still hot, invert cake onto serving platter.

When cool, sift powdered sugar over top of cake.

ENJOY!!

Friday, July 8, 2011

Easy Snicker Doodles

OH MY! These cookies are SO addictive and did not even last 24 hours at my house!  Normally snickerdoodles turn hard or crispy on the outside but these cookies were so soft and delicious! Trust me you cannot stop with just one! I am so glad to have found this recipe for super easy snickerdoodles and the secret ingredient is....yellow cake mix!! You have to try these wonderful cookies!



Ingredients:

1 yellow cake mix
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 vegetable oil
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Mix sugar and cinnamon together and sit aside

In a bowl mix together cake mix, vanilla, oil, and eggs until dough is formed. 

Shape cookie dough into 1 inch balls

**If the mixture is sticky you can refridgerate and it will be easier for form into balls.

Roll balls into cinnamon sugar mixture

Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from pan and cool. 

ENJOY!!



Taco Pizza

 OH MY GOSH!! This pizza is the BEST!! There is a place in my hometown that has Taco Pizza and I swear that this is a close comparison.  We ate this pizza right up!! I will be making this all the time now!!

Ingredients:
1 lb.lean ground beef
1 ready-to-use baked pizza crust (12 inch)  I used Freschetta Artisan Pizza Crust! We love this crust!
2 cups Mexican Style Finely Shredded Four Cheese
1- 1 1/2 cups shredded lettuce
1 large tomato, chopped
crushed Doritos
Pizza sauce, optional
Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Place pizza crust on pan.

I used just a couple of spoonfuls of pizza sauce on the crust. (Since this was the first time I made Taco pizza I wasn't sure what it would be like without just a little bit of pizza sauce so I added about 2 TBSP to the crust before placing the meat on the crust.)

Next, place the meat all over the crust and top with Mexican cheese.

Bake in oven for 8-10 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown. 

Remove from oven and immediately cover pizza with lettuce and tomatoes.

Drizzle Taco Sauce on top of pizza and then place crushed Doritos on top. 

ENJOY!!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Is your mouth watering yet??  These are DELICIOUS! I have made a lot of cupcakes and had LOTS of different kinds of cupcakes and I have to say that this is quite possibly my favorite!! They are so simple to make!!

All you need a box of chocolate cake mix ( I used chocolate fudge) and a package of pre-made chocolate chip cookie dough.


Mix the cake according to the directions on the box

Fill 24 cupcake liners about half full with batter & use 1 cookie dough chunk per cupcake.

Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes, depending on how your oven cooks. After the cupcakes have cooled, frost them!!

For these cupcakes, I like whipped vanilla frosting. 

They are SO good and SO easy to make!




And the BEST part.......

is the MIDDLE!! YUMMY!


ENJOY!!