Chocolate Surprise Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes for my friends going away party and everyone seemed to enjoy them. These cupcakes were super light and moist.

Ingredients:

Cupcake:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

 Filling:

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used the mini chocolate chips.)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, 2 cups sugar, cocoa, 1 teaspoon salt and baking soda. Stir in oil, water, vinegar and vanilla until blended. Pour mixture into prepared muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full. (I filled mine too full and these cupcakes will rise so be careful to not put too much of the cake mix in the muffin cup.)
3. To make the filling: In a medium bowl, beat together the cream cheese, egg, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt until light and fluffy. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop a heaping teaspoonful of the cream cheese mixture into each cupcake. 
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Allow to cool. 

I topped my cupcakes with cream cheese icing (my favorite).

Cream Cheese Icing: 

• 1 (8oz) package of cream cheese, softened
• 1 stick of butter
• 1 box of powdered sugar
• 1 tblsp of vanilla extract

1. Cream together the softened cream cheese and the butter.
2. Mix in the powdered sugar and the vanilla extract until smooth.
3. Ice your cooled cupcakes and enjoy!

Better-Than-Crack Brownies

So I made these brownies to thank everyone in my office for helping me so much the last few weeks with my big project and they were a hit! I think they would be a great party food because you can cut them into bite size pieces and they will go a long way. They are very delicious but they are also very sweet so I think bite sized would be a great idea. LOL

Ingredients:

• 1 batch brownies (I used a boxed mix)
• 1/2 cup salted peanuts (I added about 3/4 cup to mine)
• 1 cup chopped Reese’s peanut butter cups (I added a little over a cup to mine and I used the off brand Walmart peanut butter cups to cut down on the price and they still were delicious)
• 1 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 tablespoon butter
• 1 1/2 cups Rice Krispies Cereal

Instructions:

1. Mix brownies according to directions, and bake for 20-25 minutes in a 9 x 13 baking dish. 
2. Remove from oven and top with peanuts and peanut butter cups, and bake for 4-6 minutes more.
3. While they are finishing baking, melt chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter (I just melted mine in the microwave). Stir in cereal. Remove brownies from oven and evenly pour chocolate mixture over top.
4. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving. (I didn't put mine in the fridge but I will next time.)

Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole

This recipe takes a little while to cook but it is really good and simple. I thought with all the hot sauce that this recipe calls for that it would be super spicy but it is not, it just adds a little heat.

For the original recipe go here http://cooklisacook.blogspot.com/2012/03/loaded-potato-buffalo-chicken-casserole.html .

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 8-10 medium potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes  (I left the skin on.)

      Sauce: (I made 1 batch of this sauce for the chicken and 1 for the potatoes because I did not have very much left for the chicken once I tossed the potatoes in it. So I actually used double of all the ingredients below.)

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt 
• 1 tbs. freshly ground pepper 
• 1 tbs. paprika 
• 2 tbs. garlic powder
• 6 tbs. hot sauce 

     Topping:

• 2 cup Fiesta Blend Cheese or a mix of Cheddar & Monterey Jack
• 1 cup crumbled bacon 
• 1 cup diced green onion

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 500F.  
2. In a large bowl mix together the olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder & hot sauce.  Add the cubed potatoes and stir to coat.  
3. Carefully scoop the potatoes into a cooking spray coated baking dish, leaving behind as much of the olive oil/hot sauce mix as possible.  
4. Bake the potatoes for 45-50 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes, until cooked through and crispy & browned on the outside.  
5. While the potatoes are cooking, add the cubed chicken to the bowl with the leftover olive oil/hot sauce mix and stir to coat. (This is when I made a new batch of sauce to coat my chicken.) 
6. Once the potatoes are fully cooked, remove from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 400F.  Top the cooked potatoes with the raw marinated chicken.  
7. In a bowl mix together the cheese, bacon & green onion and top the raw chicken with the cheese mix.  Return the casserole to the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the topping is bubbly delicious. (I cooked mine for 20 minutes and it was done perfectly.)  
8. Serve with extra hot sauce and/or ranch dressing.

Crockpot Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti

This recipe is so delicious and super easy! It would be really good for a busy day when you want to have a homemade supper. This was the first time I used a crockpot but I think I am addicted to it now so I will be trying more of these type recipes ASAP. I am not usually a fan of Velveeta cheese but this was really good and not overly cheesy.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound Kraft Velveeta Light Reduced-Fat Pasteurized Processed Cheese Product
• 12 1/2 oz canned chicken, drained & flaked (I only used 1 but I think I will use 2 next time so you can taste the chicken more.)
• 10 3/4 oz Campbell's 98% Fat-Free Cream Of Chicken Soup, undiluted
• 10 3/4 oz Campbell's 98% Fat-Free Cream Of Mushroom Soup, undiluted
• 10 oz canned tomatoes with green chilies, Rotel
• 4 oz canned mushrooms, stems and pieces, drained (I just used a can of sliced mushrooms and then diced them into small pieces.)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 small onion, diced 1 medium green pepper, diced 
• 1/2 tsp table salt 
• 1/2 tsp black pepper 
• 14 1/2 oz cooked whole-wheat spaghetti 

Instructions:

1. Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Combine all ingredients in slow cooker and stir to mix well.
3. Cook on LOW for 2-3 hours. Stir again just before serving. (I did not have 3 hours to cook this so I cooked if on HIGH for 1.5 hours and stirred it occasionally.)