Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza

I was a little nervous to try this recipe because, well, it's different. But it got great reviews and I thought, what the heck? What's the worst that can happen besides maybe throwing it away and ordering takeout?? And since Friday nights are pizza night in our house, I am always looking for a new idea for pizza. I hope you all get a chance to try this out! I tweaked it a little bit, I added bacon and omitted the onions. My whole family ate this up and Bryan said it was a keeper (which doesn't happen often!).

1 pound hamburger (I seasoned mine with McCormick's Roasted Red Pepper and Garlic, but season as you wish!)
1 (12-inch) prepared pizza crust (I used the recipe below)
1/2 cup yellow mustard
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup chopped onions (I omitted this, but maybe green onions would be good!)
15 dill pickle slices
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 package bacon, chopped into pieces, cooked and drained

Brown the hamburger, seasoning to your liking. Set aside. Cook bacon, set aside. Prepare cruse (I used the recipe below, and it is awesome because you make it and you can use it right away, with NO rising time!)

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

1.Combine flour, salt, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Mix in oil and warm water. Spread out on a large pizza pan. 

2.Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.

Top cooked dough with mustard. Then add 2 cups mozzerella, hamburger, bacon, pickle slices, and cheddar cheese. Cook 10-12 minutes longer, until cheese is melted.

**I think it would be easier to chop up the pickles slices - it would be easier to eat. But the slices look so cool on the pizza!

Swedish Pancakes

I can't believe we (as in my sisters and I) haven't posted this yet! We grew up on Swedish Pancakes, which are pretty similar to crepes. We usually put maple syrup in the middle and rolled it up, although we've also filled it with fruit and whipped cream. My inlaws make crepes with orange zest in it, that might be fun too. Oh, and a new fave of ours is Nutella or peanut butter with bananas. Every time I make them reminds me of Saturday mornings at my parent's house.

Swedish Pancakes (feeds a family of 4-ish, so you can double or triple this)

1 cup milk
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour, not sifted

Mix all ingredients except flour together in a bowl with an egg beater or a mixer with the whisk paddle attached. Add flour and mix until smooth. In a large pan or crepe pan, with about 1/2 Tablespoon melted butter coating it, pour about 1/4 to 1/3 cup batter into the pan, swirling the pan to cover the entire bottom (first photo). Once the edges are started to turn brown, flip the pancake over. Let cook until golden spots appear on the pancake (second picture). Stack pancakes together between wax paper or serve them up to hungry family members who are waiting for more. To fill, put filling choice in the down the middle of the pancake and roll it up like a cigar (picture 3).

Want to make your own maple syrup???

Maple Syrup

1 cup water

2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon Mapeline (maple extract)

Boil water in a small saucepan. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat and add the Mapeline. It will be thin, but it's so good. Use a small ladle or gravy boat to serve. My dad saves old store-bought syrup bottles and fills them with his syrup.

Cafe Rio Salad Dressings

I know we already have two recipes for Cafe Rio salads on our blog, but this is a different dressing that is AMAZING! I had it at a baby shower, and honestly, the dressing made the meal. You have to try this next time you make the salad! It's easy and just wonderful. I love the garlic flavor in it. Happy Cafe Rio-ing!

1 1/3 cup sour cream
3/4 cup mayo
1 bunch of cilantro
1 pkg Ranch dressing mix
4 Tbsp salsa verde (green salsa)
2 cloves garlic
1/8 tsp Tabasco sauce (I omitted this)
juice of one lime

Mix together in a blender--and that's it!

Easy Cake Cookies

I know we all have our favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe but this recipe caught my eye because of how versatile and easy it was! You make this cookie with a box of cake mix! Since I stock up on my boxed yellow cake mix when it is on sale (for lemon blossoms!) I used that and normal choc. chips. You can change this up and make any kind of cookie you could imagine. They are fluffy and have a great taste to them. Give them a try the next time you are in a pinch for time, you won't be disappointed.

Easy Cake Cookies

1 Box cake Mix (any flavor)
1/4 C. Flour
1/4 C. Water
1/2 C. Oil
1 Egg
1 C. Chocolate Chips (any flavor)

Mix together all ingredients adding choc. chips last. Drop spoonfuls on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-12 min. The cookies will be lightly browning on the ends. You can mix up this recipe and make chocolate cookies with butterscotch choc. chps or maybe mint! So many possibilities I cannot wait to make some more flavors!!!

Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup

This recipe is from the Sisters' Cafe blog, which I have been frequenting lately. I'm making some other dishes from their blog later this week (including Honey Lime Enchiladas!) and anything new I like I'll definitely share! Make sure when you make this soup, that you put the tortilla chips at the bottom, top with the soup, and finish off with shredded cheese and sour cream. My soup wasn't nearly as soupy as the one in the picture. It was really thick but tasted fantastic. Next time I'll add in some chicken stock at the end if it's too thick.

My kids loved this soup and my husband said it was a keeper. It was super simple- just throw it all in the crockpot and let it simmer for 8 hours on low, and there you go! It made my house smell yummy too! I know all of you in Utah need some warmth and soup is so easy. Plus, this one is super figure friendly if you use light or fat free sour cream and little cheese.

Picture courtesy The Sisters' Cafe

4 chicken breast halves (I've used 3 big ones and had it turn out great)

2 15-oz cans black beans, drained
2 15-oz cans Mexican stewed tomatoes
1 cup salsa (they used medium, but mild would be fine, just not as flavorful)
1 4-oz can chopped green chilies
1 14 ½-oz can tomato sauce
Tortilla chips, not optional :)
2 cups grated cheddar cheese (I prefer sharp)

Combine all ingredients except chips and cheese in large slow cooker. Cover and cook on low 8 hours. Just before serving, remove chicken breasts and slice or shred into bite-sized pieces. Stir into soup. To serve, put a handful of chips in each individual soup bowl. Ladle soup over chips. Top with cheese.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

I've had this recipe in my book for awhile...I just forgot about it. And when I was trying to decide what to do for Brent's cake...I knew I had to make this one! As everyone knows--Brent loves the chocolate peanut butter combination. The original recipe had me making a cake from scratch in two 9-inch cake pans. Unfortunately, they turned out sunk in the middle and didn't come out of the pan. So, I went with a cake mix. And, honestly, how can you go wrong with a cake mix? When they do it so well, why stress with homemade?

Step One: Make chocolate cake!

Step Two: Make peanut butter frosting (this isn't an exact recipe. Play with it until it turns into the right consistency!)

2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup milk (may need more)
2-3 cups powdered sugar

Mix peanut butter, vanilla, and milk. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Add powdered sugar until the consistency looks right. If ti gets too thick, add more milk. If it seems to runny and soft: add more peanut butter or sugar.

Step 3: Top with chopped peanut butter cups.

It was awesome!!!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Just in time for Valentine's Day, here is a yummy and special treat you can make for your family and friends! Red Velvet Cupcakes! It took me a while to like the taste of red velvet, but this recipe is awesome! Red velvet isn't meant to be a chocolate cake in the color of red, it's more of a mix between chocolate and vanilla cake, with a denser texture. It is really moist, and looks amazing (hello! It's ruby red in color!). But enough typing, more eating.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 tsp cocoa powder
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
3 T red food coloring
1 tsp distilled white vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Line two 12-cup muffin pans with cupcake papers. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. (Sifting is important here because it helps the texture to be more fluffy). In a large bowl gently beat the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the went and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake papers, about 2/3 full. (I find it really easy and lots cleaner to pour the batter in a gallon-size baggie and snip of a corner. Then I can just squeeze the amount of batter in the cupcake liner without dripping all over the pan like I do when I fill with a spoon.) Bake in oven 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once halfway through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and let cool completely before frosting.

Modified from Paula Deen

Cream Cheese Frosting (the best part!)

1 cube butter, softened
1 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Beat the butter and cream cheese together. Add powdered sugar a cup at a time and vanilla.

Isn't the color beautiful?? It just screams VALENTINE'S DAY!!

I frosted mine with a large star tip, and topped it with sliced almonds I chopped up a bit. You can use chopped pecans, shredded coconut, or nothing!

Chocolate Mint Truffle Cookies

I stole my husband's lap top for a minute so i can finally post something! These were by far my favorite Christmas cookie this year and I made them several times. They really taste like a truffle because they are so soft and moist inside the chocolate shell. And they are tiny so you can eat a million of them and not feel too bad!

Chocolate Mint Truffle Cookies

1/4 c. butter, cubed
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
1 egg
1/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. peppermint extract
1 c. flour
1/3 c. cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 c. Chopped Andes mint candies
dipping chocolate, white, milk, or dark chocolate
optional toppings: sprinkles, nuts, crushed candy canes

In a small pan, melt butter and 1/2 c. chocolate chips. Remove from heat and stir until smooth. Cool slightly. Stir in the egg, sugars, and extracts. COmbine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt and stir into chocolate mixture. Fold in 3/4 c. chopped Andes mints.
Roll rounded tablespoons of dough into balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 8-10 min. or until tops appear slightly dry. Cool for 1 minute before removing to wire rack to cool completely.
Dip cookies in melted dipping chocolate and sprinkle with toppings.

*I couldn't find Andes mint candies so I chopped up those green mint chips and used them instead