Fettuccine Alfredo

The picture doesn’t look very appetizing, however this recipe is completely sinful and should only be made once a year.  It was very good and even better than some restaurant versions I have tasted!! I would love to experiment with finding a healthier version, but I had some leftover cream so figured why not indulge.  I made some grilled chicken to top it with, but this would be even better with roasted veggies.

Side note: I always thought it was fettucini but instead found online it is fettuccine…not sure which is right but I’m going with fettuccine because my spell check says so.

Fettuccine Alfredo (adapated from the Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 stick of butter (I think you could use less)
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Parmesan cheese, shredded (2ish cups)
• Pasta noodles (reserve cooking water)
• Salt/pepper

Directions:

• In a medium skillet, melt butter and add in garlic and saute over medium low heat.  Try not to let garlic burn. Add in cream and season with ground black pepper. Let it sit on low heat until pasta is ready so the sauce remains hot.
• Once sauce is done, cook pasta according to package directions. Make sure to reserve some of the starchy water before draining. 
• In a serving bowl, place 1 cup of parmesan cheese in the bottom. Pour cream sauce over the cheese and let it sit a minute.
• Drain pasta and pour immediately into bowl.  Toss and sprinkle with more parmesan if desired.  If the mixture is thick and gloppy, thin out with some of the reserved pasta water.

For step by step pictures, check out The Pioneer Woman’s recipe.

 

Lemon Gooey Cake

I think lemon is my favorite gooey cake version so far! These are the perfect spring treat. Have you noticed how all of my pictures are the same? It is because I always forget to take one until I have piled up the bars to take to a friend or to work.

Lemon Gooey Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 package lemon cake mix
• 3 eggs
• 2 sticks of butter – melted separately
• 8oz package cream cheese, softened
• 1 box (16oz) powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• lemon zest (I used bottled juice so didn’t have any)
• extra powdered sugar for dusting

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350
• In large mixing bowl, combine cake mix with 1 stick melted butter and 1 egg. Press into the bottom of a greased 13×9 cake pan.
• In a large mixing bowl (I always use the same one that I just did the cake mix in without cleaning it) beat the cream cheese until smooth.  Mix in 2 eggs, 1 stick melted butter, powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth.
• Pour cream cheese mixture on top of cake mix crust and spread evenly.
• Bake for 40 to 50 minutes – trying not to overbake.
• When cool, dust with powdered sugar

Chicken Noodles

This is one recipe I have picked up on since living in good ole Iowa. My friend brought her leftovers to work for lunch one day and I knew I had to recreate them. I’ve learned it is basically a thickened chicken noodle soup or close to chicken and dumplings. My friend shared with me her grandmother’s recipe and while mine turn out different each time, they are still delicious.  This is one of those recipes I just keep adding things until it works, but I discovered The Pioneer Woman has a recipe so I will give you her proportions.

I took a short cut this time by using a rotisserie chicken and then saved the bones to simmer to make a more flavorful broth.  You could use the rotisserie chicken and canned broth too to make it even easier. I also discovered the greatness of chicken base in this recipe. I had never heard of it before, but it adds a wonderful and stronger flavor than broth or bouillon ever could.

Chicken Noodles (recipe adapted from an IA grandma and The Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients:

• 1 whole chicken (or use pre-cut pieces)
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1/2 onion, diced
• Salt/Pepper to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes (optional)
• Chicken base (optional but highly recommended)
• 16 ounces, Frozen Egg Noodles (I used Reames brand)
• 3 to 4 T flour

Directions:

• Cover chicken in 4 quarts water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes.
• Remove chicken from pot and pick meat from the bones. Return bones to broth and add in 2 chicken bouillon cubes, if using. Simmer on medium low to low for about 45 minutes.
• Remove bones from broth with a strainer or slotted spoon, making sure to get all of them!
• Add the carrots, celery and onions to the pot, as well as salt and pepper. This is when I added 2 big spoonfuls of chicken base. Stir to combine and simmer for ten minutes to meld flavors.
• Increase heat and add frozen egg noodles and chicken. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes.
• Mix flour and a little water. Stir until smooth. Pour into soup, stir to combine, and simmer for another 5 minutes, or until broth thickens a bit. Test and adjust seasonings as needed. If it gets too thick, add more water. If not thick enough, add more flour/water.

Strawberry Gooey Cake

It appears this gooey cake theme is officially on with my blog. Maybe I will make it a challenge for this year – let’s say 25 versions of gooey cake by the end of the year.  So far here are the ones I’ve made:

Vanilla Gooey Cake

Chocolate Gooey Cake

Pumpkin Gooey Cake

Chocolate Peanut Butter Gooey Cake

German Chocolate Gooey Cake

The latest version is strawberry. I simply used the vanilla recipe and replaced it with a strawberry cake mix.  I think this one definitely has room for improvement as it tasted a little artificial to me, but everyone at my office loved it.  I would like to somehow make it like I do my regular strawberry cake, so stay tuned for any adaptations to this flavor.

Strawberry Gooey Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 package strawberry cake mix
• 3 eggs
• 2 sticks of butter – melted separately
• 8oz package cream cheese, softened
• 1 box (16oz) powdered sugar
• 1 t vanilla extract

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350
• In large mixing bowl, combine cake mix with 1 stick melted butter and 1 egg. Press into the bottom of a greased 13×9 cake pan.
• In a large mixing bowl (I always use the same one that I just did the cake mix in without cleaning it) beat the cream cheese until smooth.  Mix in 2 eggs, 1 stick melted butter, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.
• Pour cream cheese mixture on top of cake mix crust and spread evenly.
• Bake for 40 to 50 minutes – trying not to overbake.

German Chocolate Gooey Cake

In sticking with my idea to tackle all variations of the gooey butter cake, I made a german chocolate version this weekend for a friend.  I didn’t taste test as I’m not a huge coconut fan, but I am hopeful they will love them.

German Chocolate Gooey Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 package german chocolate cake mix
• 3 eggs
• 2 sticks of butter – melted separately
• 8oz package cream cheese, softened
• 1 box (16oz) powdered sugar
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
• 1 cup chopped pecans (I omitted)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350
• In large mixing bowl, combine cake mix with 1 stick melted butter and 1 egg. Press into the bottom of a greased 13×9 cake pan.
• In a large mixing bowl (I always use the same one that I just did the cake mix in without cleaning it) beat the cream cheese until smooth.  Mix in 2 eggs, 1 stick melted butter, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Stir in coconut and pecans.
• Pour cream cheese mixture on top of cake mix crust and spread evenly.
• Bake for 40 to 50 minutes – trying not to overbake.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Gooey Cake

Every time I make a gooey cake it always gets rave reviews.  I have previously shared with you the chocolate, vanilla and pumpkin versions.  Most recently I made the vanilla gooey cake with the Betty Crocker Rainbow Chip cake mix and everyone loved it.  I thought I would try a new version for my friend’s birthday and whipped up a chocolate base with peanut butter filling.  It seemed to be a hit and definitely made my house smell amazing while it was baking!

I’ve decided I might have to dedicate my blog to gooey cakes and see how many versions I can come up with.  Next up…strawberry!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Gooey Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 package chocolate cake mix
• 4 eggs
• 2 sticks of butter – melted separately
• 8oz package cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 box (16oz) powdered sugar
• 1 t vanilla extract

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350
• In large mixing bowl, combine cake mix with 1 stick melted butter and 1 egg. Press into the bottom of a greased 13×9 cake pan.
• In a large mixing bowl (I always use the same one that I just did the cake mix in without cleaning it) mix together the cream cheese and peanut butter.  Stir in 3 eggs, 1 stick melted butter, and vanilla.  Mix in powdered sugar until smooth.
• Pour cream cheese mixture on top of cake mix crust and spread evenly.
• Bake for 40 to 50 minutes – trying not to overbake. Mine usually take exactly 40 minutes but think I did this one for 45 min.

I think this would be even better if you have some peanut butter chips to mix in so add those to your shopping list.

Chocolate Caramel Bars

We are doing a cookie/dessert exchange and I wanted to try something new.  I have thought about trying to make caramel for a while now but it always intimidates me.  I found a post on Pinterest and figured I better give it a try.  This recipe called for condensed milk so I thought it might be easier than the boiled sugar/cream method.  Well it certainly isn’t hard, but even with stirring constantly I still had what appeared to be burnt bits throughout, but thank goodness it doesn’t taste burnt.

Overall I’d say these are pretty good, but I think the chocolate overpowers the caramel a little and the shortbread is a little too crumbly. The recipe I followed called for sea salt on top, which I didn’t have so I omitted, but maybe that would help. If you have any no fail or must try caramel recipes please send them my way!

Ingredients:

Shortbread Layer:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 t baking powder
• 1/4 t salt
• 2 sticks butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar

Caramel:

• 2 (14 oz) cans sweetened condensed milk
• 2 sticks butter, cut into small pieces
• 4 T light corn syrup
• 1 cup sugar

Chocolate:

• 8 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (I used regular semisweet chocolate chips)
• 1 T light corn syrup
• 1 stick butter

Directions:

Shortbread:

• Preheat oven to 325. Line a 13×9 baking pan with parchment paper.
• Cream together the butter and sugar.
• Mix in flour and baking powder until combined. Will be sort of crumbly.
• Press evenly into baking dish
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown
• If the shortbread puffs up during baking, just press it down while warm out of the oven so it cools in an even layer

Caramel:

• Combine all ingredients in a heavy bottomed sauce pot. Using a candy thermometer, cook until it reaches the softball stage (240), stirring constantly.
• If it is not already the desired amber/caramel color, reduce heat and continue cooking until color is reached.
• Pour the caramel over the shortbread layer and allow to cool. Be careful as hot caramel on skin burns!
• Note: I could really use some more instructions here as I wasn’t sure what temperature to cook it at to reach 240, i.e. do you boil, cook on low heat, etc.

Chocolate:

• In a double boiler, or microwave, combine chocolate, butter and corn syrup until melted and smooth. 
• Pour over caramel layer and allow to cool.

Slice and enjoy!