Ooey Gooey Cherry Limeade Bars

I'm pretty sure my obsession with anything cherry limeade is bordering on unhealthy...but here we go again! ;) I hardly ever use cake mixes anymore but for this recipe - and traditional ooey gooey butter bars - I'll make an exception. I took the traditional recipe for ooey gooey butter bars, but added a box of cherry jello to the base and some lime zest and juice to the cream cheese layer. Oh man! If you like ooey gooey butter bars and/or cherry limeades you should definitely give this recipe a try. It's quick, easy, and delicious - perfect for summer! And it really does taste like a cherry limeade. Enjoy!

Ooey Gooey Cherry Limeade Bars
for the base:
1 box white cake mix
1 stick butter, melted
2 eggs
1 (3 oz) box cherry jello (unprepared)

for the cream cheese layer:
8 oz cream cheese (or neufchatel cream cheese)
2 eggs
zest of 2 small-medium limes
juice of 1 small lime
4 cups powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9x13 pan with non-stick spray.
2. In large bowl, combine cake mix, butter, eggs, and cherry jello. Stir until combined. (You could use a mixer for this if you wanted.) Pour into prepared pan.
3. In separate bowl, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth. Add in zest, juice, and eggs, and beat until fully combined. Pour over cake mix layer.
4. Bake for 25 minutes or until edges are lightly brown but center is not completely set. Serve room temperature or cold (I prefer mine straight from the fridge).

If you like this recipe you might also enjoy:

Cherry Limeade Cookies

Strawberry Banana Chia Smoothie

Fresh Squeezed Lemonade

No-Bake Nutella Cookies

I keep thinking that life will slow down a little and I can get back in the kitchen. Between moving and vacationing, I've definitely missed being in the kitchen! My vacation was a road trip - in a RV - around the Great Lakes area and up into Canada. RV kitchens are not full size kitchens, but after a few days I can't resist and have to bake something anyway! =) I usually try to bake something with minimal ingredients. For some reason, no bake cookies kept popping up in my mind but I knew I couldn't make no-bake cookies going down the road....and then I spotted a recipe for microwave no-bake cookies. Say what?!? Best idea ever! Dessert without heating up the kitchen - perfect for summer. And swapping out the peanut butter for Nutella pretty much makes these cookies irresistible! I may have eaten a couple (or 3) before they had even cooled enough to hold their shape ;). Enjoy!

If you have a chance, you should visit the 1000 Islands area on the US-Canada Border on the St. Lawrence River. It's such a beautiful area. This is the view from the SkyDeck. 

No-Bake Nutella Cookies
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup nutella
3-1/2 cups quick oats

1. Microwave butter, milk, cocoa powder, and sugar in large microwave safe bowl for 3 minutes. Stir and microwave for 2 minutes more.
2. Stir in nutella and oats until combined.
3. Drop onto wax paper or lightly greased aluminum foil.
*adapted from Cooks.com

If you like this recipe you might also enjoy:

Nutella Espresso Rice Krispy Treats

Chocolate No-Bake Cookie Muffins

No-Bake Cookie Pancakes

random things I'm loving (part 2)

In no particular order, here are some random things I'm loving =)....

1. Hawaiian Punch Drink Enhancer  I was so excited when I spotted this in Wal-Mart a few days ago. I love hawaiian punch and I'm loving all the new liquid water enhancers that they have now. No extra fridge space required. This is definitely my favorite flavor so far. 

2. Cracker Jack Caramel Coated Popcorn & Peanuts My mother loves Cracker Jack popcorn, but I hadn't had any in a long time until a few weeks ago. I think it may be my new favorite snack this summer. And it really doesn't have that many calories per serving. 

3. iPhone 5 The iPhone 4 was my first smartphone and my first apple product. Since then, I've bought an iPad, a Macbook Pro, and now an iPhone 5 (in white). Once you go mac, you never go back! ;)

4. Aspect Honeycomb Champagne Backsplash One of the few decisions that we have left to make for our kitchen remodel is the backsplash. We just can't decide =/. We spotted these tiles at Lowe's and fell in love. They're even prettier in person, but they're kind of pricy. Our appliances are stainless and our walls and countertops are kind of tan and we loved the way this backsplash picked up the tan and the stainless tones. What do y'all think??

5. Asics Gel Nimbus 15 I've been a hard-core asics fan for 10+ years now. They're by far my favorite brand of running shoes (the only brand I buy!) and I'm pretty sure these will be my next pair! I love this color combo =).

My kitchen cabinets should be ready early this week, but since I'm vacationing in Canada until the end of the week I guess it doesn't really matter ;). I'm still excited though!! 

Heath Bar Cookies

Heath candy bars are right up there with sour punch straws on my list of favorites ;). I love cookies with heath too. It gives the cookies a delicious caramel, toffee flavor. If you've never made heath cookies before you should definitely give this recipe a try! They're delicious! Unfortunately, mine are all gone...guess I'll have to go make some more =). The key to making good cookies with heath is chilling the dough and using parchment paper or a silpat. Otherwise, your cookies will spread too thin and will be very hard to remove from the cookie sheet. Enjoy!

Heath Bar Cookies
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1-1/2 cups chopped Heath Bar or Heath Bar Bits
1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside. In a separate bowl, combine Heath Bar pieces and chopped pecans. Set aside.
2. Beat together the butter and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time, and vanilla.
3. Alternatively mix in the Heath Bar mixture and the flour mixture, a third at a time, until well blended. Chill cookie dough for at least 30 minutes (better an hour or longer).
4. Preheat oven to 350°F. On cookie sheets lined with parchment paper or Silpat, scoop dough onto prepared sheets using a 1-1/2 tbsp scoop.
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are just starting to brown. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes. Then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes about 6 dozen cookies.
*from Simply Recipes

If you like this recipe you might also enjoy:

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Reese's Pieces Chocolate Chip Cookies

Raspberry Oatmeal Crumb Bars

Strawberry Nutella Brownies

My kitchen is still a work in progress, but my new appliances were delivered last week and I couldn't resist using my new oven =)! I saw this post from Pioneer Woman and would have tried it but most of my kitchen utensils are still in boxes in the basement - including my stand mixer, most of my bowls, measuring cups, etc. Sooo...I made a modified version using a brownie mix =). Don't hate. It was delicious! Of course, if your kitchen isn't mid-remodel feel free to make Pioneer Woman's version or use your favorite from-scratch brownie recipe.

Our new house has lots of big windows in the kitchen and dining room -one of the big perks for this natural light food photographer- and I can't wait to start photographing on a regular basis again. We're headed out on an RV trip tomorrow, but hopefully I can bake up a few goodies to blog about while we're gone. Enjoy!

Strawberry Nutella Brownies
1 box brownie mix (I used Ghirardelli)
1/3-1/2 cup Nutella
2 cups sliced strawberries
1 tbsp sugar
1-1/2 cups cool-whip (or fresh whipped cream)

1. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions. Line 8 inch square baking dish with aluminum foil or parchment paper and spray with non-stick spray. Bake according to box instructions.
2. Cool completely and removed from pan.
3. Place sliced strawberries and sugar in small bowl and let set for about an hour.
4. Spread Nutella over cooled brownies. Top with cool-whip. Drain strawberries completely and spoon over cool-whip. Chill at least an hour. If you don't plan on serving right away (or the same day), don't top with the strawberries until right before serving.
*inspired by The Pioneer Woman

If you like this recipe you might also enjoy:

Strawberry Milkshake Pie

Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits

Fluffernutter Rice Krispy Treats

Almond-Butter Quinoa Blondies

We're officially living in our new house and mostly unpacked! After a long day yesterday, I was questioning my decision to spend my money on custom cabinets rather than professional movers! ;) I'm sure my family was too...haha. But we got everything - including the piano!- moved in without any scratches. Most of my kitchen stuff will remain in boxes until after my new cabinets arrive, but we've got pretty much everything else unpacked. It feels good =). As I was downloading some pictures off my memory card a couple days ago, I found some pictures of these blondies and remembered that I never posted the recipe. I spotted this recipe in an Eating Well magazine. It caught my eye immediately for two reasons: a) I LOVE brownies (or blondies) and b) it had quinoa flour. Remember, I'm obsessed with quinoa flour ;)...haha. I hope you'll give these blondies a try. They're delicious! Enjoy!

Almond Butter-Quinoa Blondies
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup smooth or crunchy natural almond butter
2 large eggs
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup quinoa flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup dark chocolate chunks or chips

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat an 8-inch-square baking pan with cooking spray.
2. Beat butter and almond butter in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer until creamy. Beat in eggs, brown sugar and vanilla. Whisk quinoa flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Mix the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
3. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs on it, about 25-30 minutes. Let cool in the pan before cutting.
*from Eating Well

If you like this recipe you might also enjoy: 

Cookies and Cream Brownies

Oatmeal Cream Pies

Strawberries and Cream Whole Wheat Muffins

Kitchen Remodel {Part 1}

If anyone has been wondering why I've been MIA the last week or so, this is why....

So yeah....we're remodeling the kitchen in our new house, but obviously it's not finished! haha We've got new appliances and custom cabinets coming but until then, this is what my kitchen looks like. How do you like my make-shift sink?? Our new appliances are being delivered Thursday and hopefully it won't be too much longer on our new cabinets. It's a mess now, but I know it will be worth it in the end. My family and I just spent 5 VERY long days tearing out our old cabinets, enlarging the opening between the living room and dining room, and putting down our new hardwood. I wish I had taken before pictures, but of course I didn't =(. I'm loving our new floors and can't wait until the kitchen is finished. It's going to be so much more spacious that what I had before and I even have a big pantry! =) Hopefully, I won't be MIA for much longer. I'm ready to get back in the kitchen! Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day!

And just for fun a few pictures of the new floor in the living room, dining room, and breakfast nook....

Blackberry Cobbler

I really wanted to make a blackberry pie, but then I spent the day lawnmower shopping and didn't really feel like making pie crust. I decided to make a cobbler instead and it hit the spot. Maybe it didn't have flaky, pastry crust but it had a wonderful, buttery biscuit topping just the same =). It was easy, delicious, and perfect for spring.

I've mentioned several times that we recently bought our first house. It was move-in ready, but we decided to put hardwood down (and rip up brand new carpet =/ ) and get new cabinets for the kitchen, because you know, we wanted to create more work for ourselves - as if moving isn't enough work by itself! ;) It will be worth it in the end....at least that's what I keep telling myself haha. We've been so busy I haven't even really been in the kitchen for days. I think I may be close to withdrawal! One. More. Week. I can make it!! =)

Blackberry Cobbler
berry mixture:
4 cups blackberries, fresh or frozen
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp sugar (less or more to taste, depends on how sweet the berries are and how sweet you would like your cobbler to be)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch

topping:
3 tbsp sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tbsp butter
1/4 cup buttermilk or milk
1 egg, lightly beaten

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place berries, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and cornstarch in a 9x9 casserole dish. Stir to coat the berries evenly with the sugar.
2. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together 3 tablespoons of sugar, the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut the butter in with a pastry blender or fork (or even your fingers) until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the egg and milk until the batter is just moistened.
3. Taking large spoonfuls, drop the batter mixture over the berries. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the berry mixture is bubbly and the topping is nicely browned.
*adapted from Simply Recipes

If you like this recipe you might also enjoy:

Rolled Sugar Cookies

Giraffe Cupcakes

Strawberry Shortcake Pancakes

Apricot Oatmeal Muffins

I'd never had fresh apricot until I picked some up at Kroger earlier this week.  Apparently, right now is peak apricot season. I like all fruits, but stone fruits like peaches, plums, nectarines, etc are my least favorite and so I wasn't sure if I'd like apricots or not. Turns out, they're delicious and I'd been missing out for the past 25 years =). They have a tart-sweet flavor that I loved! I'm a sucker for anything sour ;). I whipped up a batch of apricot muffins the next morning - sooo good! It was hard to find a recipe for fresh apricot muffins. Most of the recipes I found called for dried apricots, which are delicious too so if you can't find fresh apricots you could substitute dried apricots or even fresh peaches. Enjoy!

Apricot Oatmeal Muffins
3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup packed brown sugar*
1/3 cup skim milk
1 tbsp canola oil
1/2 tbsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
1 egg
2/3 cup finely chopped fresh apricot (about 2 apricots)
1 tbsp quick-cooking oats, if desired

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Grease 6 regular-size muffin cups with cooking spray or line with paper baking cups.
2. In medium bowl, mix flour, 1/2 cup oats, the baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. In small bowl, mix brown sugar, milk, oil, vanilla and egg with fork or wire whisk until blended. Stir milk mixture into flour mixture just until flour is moistened. Fold in apricots. Divide evenly among muffin cups. Sprinkle each with about 1/2 teaspoon oats.
3. Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan to cooling rack. Makes 6 muffins.
*adapted from Betty Crocker

Note: If you want a sweeter, more dessert-like muffins increase the sugar to 1/3 cup.

Nutritional Info (per muffin): 159 calories; 4.0 g fat; 27.4 g carbohydrates; 2.8 g fiber; 4.8 g protein.

If you like this recipe you might also enjoy:

Blackberry Oatmeal Muffins

Peach Crumble Muffins

Cinnamon Oat Bran Muffins

Cherry Limeade Cookies

I may have mentioned before that my favorite drink from Sonic is their Cherry Limeade. Unfortunately, Sonic is across town from where we live now but only about a mile from our new house...yeah!!! =) I couldn't be happier with the location of our new house - and not just because of Sonic ;). I'm also cleaning out my refrigerator (or trying to) and the open jar of maraschino cherries had to go. The only solution was cherry limeade cookies...obviously =). I took a basic, chewy sugar cookie recipe, added lime zest, cherry juice, and chopped cherries and then topped them with a powdered sugar-lime glaze. All the flavors of cherry limeade but in cookie form - delicious! Who's ready for summer?? Enjoy!

Cherry Limeade Cookies

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup white sugar

1 egg

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

2 tbsp maraschino cherry juice

1 cup chopped maraschino cherries (well-drained)

zest of 2 limes

1 cup powdered sugar

4 tsp lime juice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In bowl of stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat butter, sugar, and lime zest until light and fluffy. Add egg and cherry juice and beat for about a minute more.
2. In separate bowl whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Add to wet ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined. Stir in chopped cherries. Scoop dough using a 1-1/2 tablespoon scoop, onto parchment lined baking sheets.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 9-10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool completely.
4. In small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and lime juice. Add additional lime juice if necessary to thin. Drizzle over cooled cookies. Makes about 2-1/2 dozen cookies.

If you like this recipe you might also enjoy:

Lemon Bars

Poppy Seed Thumbprint Cookies

Copycat Cootie Brown's Key Lime Pie

Honey Rye Waffles

If you've noticed that I've not been posting as frequently as before, you are right! A good portion of my kitchen stuff is in boxes and we've been working on a few little renovation projects on our new house =). It's messy now, but I know it will be worth it in the end. I made these waffles a few days before I packed up my waffle iron. It had been a while since I'd made waffles but wouldn't you know that as soon as I packed it up, I had all sorts of waffle recipes floating around in my head ;). I love the combination of honey and rye. You don't get a strong flavor from the rye flour - more of a subtle nuttiness. If you think you don't like rye, it might be the caraway seeds that rye flour is often paired with that you don't like. Rye + honey = delicious! Leftovers freeze and reheat really well too. Give them a try. Enjoy!

Honey Rye Waffles
3/4 cup rye flour
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups fat-free (or low-fat) buttermilk
3 tbsp honey
2 eggs
2 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat waffle iron.
2. In large bowl, combine flours, flaxseed, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine. In smaller bowl, combine buttermilk, honey, eggs, oil, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and stir until combined.
3. Cook in waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions. Makes 8 waffles.

Nutritional Info (per waffle): 221 calories; 7.3 g fat; 31.5 g carbohydrates; 6.5 g fiber; 9.0 g protein.

If you like this recipe you might also enjoy: 

Whole Wheat Waffles

Chocolate Whole Wheat Waffles

Healthy Apple Turnovers