PB&J Marshmallow Oreo Stuffed Cookies

Let me start out saying these cookies are the mama jama of cookies.   There's peanut butter.  There is marshmallow.  There is M&Ms.  And if all that was not enough ... stuffed inside is a berry burst oreo.  Take that normal little cookie! 

However, I am suppose to making cookies for math tutoring that contains not nuts, gluten free, etc.  Clearly I did a epic fail. 

These cookies are so big you have to make them in a muffin tin! 

WARNING!  These cookies are not for the faint at heart.  They are rich.  Rich in flavor and content.  Please eat with care and preferably with a big glass of milk. 

 I hope Kraft never stops making mallow bits.  These things are awesome!  Got get some at your local Target store if you have not already done so.  If you don't bake you can at least enjoy them in your hot chocolate. 

PB&J Marshmallow Oreo Stuffed Cookies
Adapted from: Recipes from Kevin & Amanda

Ingredients:
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup Jet Puffed Mallow Bits
1 bag milk chocolate M&Ms
1 pkg Berry Burst Ice Cream Oreos

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350F.  Spray a standard size muffin pan with cooking spray.
2.  Beat peanut butter, butter, and sugars together on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 3-5 minutes)
3.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Beat until well combined.
4.  Whisk together flours, baking powder, and salt.
5.  Add dry mixture to wet mixture and beat on low speed until just combined.  Stir in marshmallow bits.
6.  Add 5-6 M&Ms to bottom of prepared muffin pan.
7.  Add a scoop of cookie dough, one Oreo, another scoop of cookie dough and press down to flatten.  Top with 5-6 more M&Ms.
8.  Bake at 350F for 15-18 minutes or until the edges of the cookies just start to turn brown.

 These cookies were amazing!  However, I could only eat 1.  The husband however has been chowing down on them.  Oh and then he has a co worker who ate 2 and then took 3 home to his family.  Ah I love people who love my baking. 

 Seriously I think I need to start entering Kong balls in our financial budget.  The pup loves them.  They are everywhere in my home.  My favorite is driving away and seeing a ball that has escaped the front gate onto the porch. 

 Keep baking and eating good food!
XOXO

Bacon Cheese Beer Bread

Ever since my friend Leslie introduced me to beer bread I have been in love.  There is just something about it that makes you want to keep eating.  Oh and beer bread is always so simple to make.

This bread is savory and great with chili, soup or pasta.  I served this bacon cheese beer bread with meatloaf and it was a big hit with El Hubby.

Bacon Cheese Beer Bread
Adapted from:  The Slow Roasted Italian

Ingredients:
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 1/4 cup shredded cheese
1 12 ounce bottle of beer
4 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350F.  Spray bread pan with cooking spray and set aside
2.  In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar with a whisk.  Make a well in the center.  Add bacon, about 3/4 of cheese and full beer into the well
3.  Stir mixture with a spoon until combined
4.  Pour mixture into prepared bread pan.  Drizzle with 1 tablespoon melted butter.  Bake for 30 minutes
5.  Remove from oven and drizzle remaining melted butter over the top
6.  Bake for an additional 25-30 minutes or until browned on top and loaf thumps when you tap the top
7.  Remove to a wire rack and allow to cool for about 5 minutes. 

This bread was super yummy.  The cheese I used was a mixture of colby and cheddar and the beer I used was MGD.  Nothing too fancy but the bread turned out well.  El Hubby and I enjoyed the bread with some meatloaf.  This bread was also very good by itself.  We toasted it for breakfast and it was just as yummy.

I am starting to feel that my fur baby is quite spoiled. 

Maybe even spoiled rotten sometimes. 

Lately she has started this thing where she wakes me up in the middle of the night to pet her.  The pup will jump on the bed and repeatedly stick her head under my hand until I wake up.  Then she turns on her back and wiggles until I start to pet her.  El Hubby says I have spoiled her rotten.  Sad!

Continue to eat good food and play with your fur babies.

XOXO

Diner Meatloaf Muffins

I am always trying to think of things to make for dinner that is fast.  After all, who really wants to wait over 1 hour for dinner to cook? Wait time really kills me.

Okay I will be honest.  I am not a fan of meatloaf.  I don't know what it is.  But then most of the time I am not a fan of a slab of meat.  Must be really weird for most people.  Oh well.  However, my husband is a fan of meatloaf.  So as the wonderful wifey that I am I make meatloaf for him.

Now if I have to eat meatloaf it better be fun.  I had seen this recipe to make meatloaf using a muffin pan to reduce time.  Ha!  What a fabulous idea!  Plus, then dinner can be cute.  Of course I decorated the meatloaf with mash potato and bacon to make them look like cupcakes.  I am weird.  I don't apologize. 

Diner Meatloaf Muffins
Adapted from From Dahlias to Doxies

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup carrot, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon oregano
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
1/2 cup ketchup
1 cup Club crackers (about 20), finely crushed
2 tablespoons mustard
1 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 eggs
cooking spray

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350F.
2.  Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat.  Add the onion, carrot, garlic and oregano to the pan and saute a couple minutes.  Set veggies aside to cool.
3.  In a large bowl, combine beef, ketchup, crackers, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and pepper.  Add the cooled veggie mixture and eggs; mix together well.
4.  Coat muffin pan with cooking spray.  Use a ice cream scooper to scoop meat mixture into muffin pan.  Top each muffin with BBQ sauce.  Bake for about 25 minutes.

I love that there are veggies in this meatloaf.  Somehow it makes me feel like I am serving something healthy.  This was fairly easy to make.  Ingredients were all items that should be easily found in the pantry.  You can even substitute any kind of crackers.  However, Club crackers are nice and buttery and ohhhhhhh sooooooo good.  Use them if you have them.  Making the meatloaf into little cupcakes really made me happy.

On Saturdays that El Hubby and I feel like giving ourselves a special treat we walk to a near by breakfast restaurant and eat outside with the pup.  Those are my favorite breakfast times.  It's nice and relaxing eating outside on a nice day.  Sadly usually people do not opt to eat outside in Fresno.  It's quite sad.  Cause in other towns such as San Francisco it is quite common.  But I guess that means move room for my little family.  The pup loves going to Country Waffle.  She loves when people walk by and ask to pet her.  But mostly she loves when she gets eggs.  Oh and we are good pet owners who bring the pup's own bowl and stuff.  (don't want to make some people cringe by letting the pup eat off human plates)  However the last 2 times that my little family went our favorite waitress has not been there.  She is always so nice, pets the pup and makes sure we have water to give to the pup.  My little family needs to start looking for another breakfast place near by because apparently all the other waitress are not too keen in serving people outside even though they have a patio.  El Hubby heard one of the waitresses say "well they better leave a big tip".  Now coming from a family of restaurant owners and having been a waitress at one time in my life before leaving a tip is very important to me cause I remember a time living off of tips.  However, I would never say it out load.  Plus, we never leave a mess and always clean up after ourselves.  Whatever!  Rude people make me angry and sad.  So the hunt for a new breakfast place has begun.  Hopefully I will find a place in walking distance that will let my little family eat outside. 

Keep cooking friends!

XOXO

Peanut Butter Delight Pupcakes

My fur baby turned 2 years old yesterday.  I can't believe how fast time flies.  It's been almost 2 years since El Hubby and I adopted the pup from the shelter.  I cannot imagine life without her.  Especially those moments when she just comes over to me and snuggles all on her own.  Can  you tell the fur baby has me wrapped around her little paw?

So of course I spoiled her and took her to doggy day camp and to get groomed.    

She got new toys and her own pupcake.  Khloe's gammy would be proud of her new toys.  Her gammy always insist that the pup needs to be a vegetarian to live a long life (gammy says seafood is okay cause it's not meat cause it does not contain blood.  Gammy is a weird lady).  I think the lime is her favorite. 

Peanut Butter Delight Pupcakes
From Sweet Pea's Kitchen

Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup shredded carrots
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup honey
1 egg

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350F.  Line muffin cups with liners.
2.  Whisk together flour and baking soda.
3.  Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
4.  Fill prepared muffin cups 3/4 full or use ice cream scooper.
5.  Bake for about 18-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. 

The pupcake was super easy to make.  Also it's kind of nice knowing what exactly is in the food I am giving her.  I spread some cream cheese on the pupcake and decorated it with a biscuit.  

The pup waited patiently as I took pictures before she could eat her pupcake.

Once the husband said the magical release word "okay" she tore into that pupcake.  Not lady like at all.  The pup is eating so fast that I can't even get the camera to focus. 

Of course I had to make treats for the humans in her life.  Cupcakes for the humans.  These were nothing fancy.  Just a box devils food cupcake mix (yeesh sorry yes box cake), cream cheese frosting and a Scooby snack as decoration. 

I hope my fur baby had a good birthday.  She sure was tired by the end of the night.

Keep baking friends and remember to show your loved ones that you love them everyday. 
XOXO