Pinteresting Experiments

So a couple of times this week I have worked on projects or recipes that I have seen on Pinterest. Here are the results:

Chocolate Chip Cookies
These cookies were purported to be the fluffiest, chewiest, BEST ever. I have had them pinned for a while now but it wasn't until Sunday that we actually made them. A friend brought them over as a thank you to Chance for helping them move. When we fell in love and asked for their secret family recipe, she replied, "Pinterest." I've been sick all weekend so Chance did the work on these.

They truly are the best cookies I have ever had. EVER! I can't wait until Chance makes them again!

Stain Remover

This was supposed to be the magic cure for yellow pit stains and it is supposed to be the "only stain remover you'll ever need." FAIL!!! 
Since it didn't work I'll spare you the pictures of our pit-stained shirts. I did everything it said. I tried it on three different shirts.

Napoleons
You guys saw that I already blogged about these but they were, technically, part of the Pinterest experiment.

This Recipe is Dynamite.

Napoleon. Dynamite.

I found this recipe for Napoleons on Pinterest and decided I had to try it right away.

Easy Strawberry Napoleon Recipe:

(Recipe from All Things Delicious)

1 sheet (half of a 17 oz. pkg) frozen puff pastry*
1 (3.4 oz) pkg. instant vanilla pudding mix
1 c. milk
1 tsp. almond extract 1 c. whipped topping
2 c. stemmed and sliced strawberries
1/3 c. sliced almonds, toasted (optional)
Powdered sugar, for garnish

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Thaw folded pastry sheet for 20 minutes. Open sheet and cut along folds to make three equal strips; halve each strip to make six rectangles. Space apart on baking sheet. Bake in center of oven about 15 minutes until well browned and baked through. Remove to rack to cool.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk pudding mix, milk, and extract for 2 minutes; fold in whipped topping and blend thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate.

Carefully split each piece of pastry in half horizontally. Cover bottom halves with almonds, then pudding mixture and sliced strawberries, dividing equally. Cover with pastry tops. Dust with powdered sugar.

Success!!

Happy Cinqo de Mayo!

In honor of Cinqo de Mayo I made Sopapilla Cheesecake for the folks in my office and those in Chance's office. It is always a huge hit! I have to give props to my good friend The Playful Professional who first introduced me to the recipe. 

Chance got a picture for me...

Ingredients

·         3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

·         1 1/2 cups white sugar

·         1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

·         2 (8 ounce) cans crescent roll dough

·          

·         1/2 cup melted butter

·         1/2 cup white sugar

·         1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

·         1/4 cup sliced almonds

Directions

1.     Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2.     Beat the cream cheese with 1 1/2 cups of sugar, and the vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth. Unroll the cans of crescent roll dough, and use a rolling pin to shape the each piece into 9x13 inch rectangles. Press one piece into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture into the baking dish, then cover with the remaining piece of crescent dough.

3.     Drizzle the melted butter evenly over the top of the cheesecake. Stir the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar together with the cinnamon in a small bowl, and sprinkle over the cheesecake along with the almonds.

4.     Bake in the preheated oven until the crescent dough has puffed and turned golden brown, about 45 minutes. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into 12 squares.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/sopapilla-cheesecake-dessert/Detail.aspx

Last St. Patty's Post of the Season: Food

Chance and I are threw a little St. Patrick's Day get-together/BYU v. Gonzaga viewing party last Saturday and I was really excited about the food. I made a bunch of desserts and concocted a well-themed appetizer to throw into the mix.

Desserts:
Lucky Charms Treats
Jello/Poke Cake
Cupcakes

Appetizer:
Carrots, Cauliflower, and Broccoli w/Ranch Dip

The Desserts:
I made Rice Krispy Treats but instead of RK I used Lucky Charms. Thanks to the fabulous, talented ladies at eighteen25 I used their printable and attached it to the top.

Recipe:
3 TB Margarine or butter
1 bag (4 cups) of marshmallows
6 cups of cereal

**The recipe indicated that they recommend fresh marshmallows. They do NOT recommend "diet, reduced calorie, or tub margarine."
Melt the butter in a big 'ol sauce pan over low heat. (You're going to add 6 cups of cereal, so it needs to be a big pan).
Add the marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.
Add the cereal and stir until well coated. Using wax paper or a buttered spoon press the mix into a 13x9 pan.
Cut into squares once it has cooled.

The marshmallows that are in the Lucky Charms added just the right amount of flavor. I'll never go back to basic Rice Krispy Treats.

Next, I made a three layer cake to mimic the Irish flag. (If you can't tell I have TOTALLY embraced their flag this year as I celebrate.) Thanks to Google Analytics I learned that someone in Belfast, Northern Ireland has stopped by my blog. I would LOVE to learn more about St. Patrick's day there, so feel free to comment!

I used a cookie cutter to guide the sprinkles into a shamrock shape.

This cake was what I call a Jello Cake and what my darling MIL calls a Poke Cake. (Can't you just hear her Southern accent wrapping itself around "Poke Cake." She's too cute.)

I bought a white cake mix. Actually, I bought two boxes. I did this because one box says it will make two 8" round pans. I needed three. I should have just spread the one mix into three pans. However, since I made two boxes, I used the left over batter and made about 12 cupcakes. Sadly the taste was really bland so the cupcakes were kind of a flop!

Now, listen. On the box it says to separate your eggs and only use the whites. Last time I didn't do this. It turns out the yolk will make your "white" cake yellow. Lesson learned: Follow directions!

I poured the batter into three 8" round pans and cooked according to directions. Then after I took them out of the oven I used a fork and poked a bunch of holes into two of the cakes. Make your jello using 1 C of boiling water and 1/2 cup of cold water. I poured the orange jello on one cake, the lime on another, and I left the last one white. Let this cool for about three hours.

I placed the Orange on bottom and frosted the top with cool whip. Next the white, and finally the green. Then frost the whole thing in cool whip. Now when you cut, it looks like the flag. Oh, and it's delicious.

I normally make this in a 13x9 pan with strawberry jello. It is always a hit. Always.

As for the appetizers:
Following my Irish flag inspiration, I laid the broccoli, cauliflower, and baby carrots out on a platter in their individual color groups. I placed the ranch dressing right in the middle of the cauliflower since it, too, is white. I set it on the table and before I could get a picture people were digging in. I'm not too sad; it was just a really successful appetizer! You can imagine it though; I've given you more than enough images of Ireland's flag!

Since this was something of a potluck our friends brought some pretty amazing things too.

Jill made an ice cream cake with mint chocolate chip ice cream. (In my family that's called Grasshopper Pie). She was in the kitchen cutting pieces for people all night long!

Britni made some delicious chocolate cupcakes with green frosting. (Her husband cooks and she makes desserts. They NEVER disappoint!)

And the piece-de-resistance, the show-stopper, the "oh my gosh HOW did you DO that?!" was the Leprechaun Trap Cake made by TMJ. She saw the tutorial on Not Martha, and decided that she had to try it.

Making this cake was quite an adventure and I desperately hope that she blogs about it. If she does; I won't let you miss it! If she doesn't, I'll be sure to tell you the story later on!