White Chocolate Snickerdoodle Blondies

It's not real to me that school starts in a little over a week. Summer actually flashed before my eyes, but I actually did quite a lot this summer. I feel like half the summer was spent on driving back and forth between home and school and in the air (now I know what my father's life is like).

It started off with my journey to Italy, then road tripping to New Paltz, then off to Maine then Ohio then finally NYC with various trips home in between and visits from J. On top of all that, took 3 classes, had an internship and a job. I'm tired just thinking about it.

Both J and I headed overseas this summer, me in the beginning and him at the end. He comes home from Israel Sunday (no more 7 hour time difference and only talking when he has wifi..which Israel isn't exactly full of wifi like America) and I thought it would be nice for him to come home to a surprise package, naturally treats would be included. Also, now that I have all this free time, I don't know what to do with myself, it's wonderful.

I wrote this post before I made the blondies and I whipped up a batch this afternoon, super easy and there is two left...Soooo I ran to the store tonight and whipped up a double batch so any snackers that made their way into the kitchen wouldn't eat them all!

White Chocolate Snickerdoodle Blondies
source: Life As A Lofthouse

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1 Tablespoon sugar & 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, mixed together

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8x8 baking pan with non-stick spray.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy and light. Beat in salt, egg and vanilla until combined. Stir in flour until combined, and then stir in white chocolate chips. Batter will be very thick like cookie dough.
3. Spread and press batter evenly into pan. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture over the top.
4. Bake for 28-30 minutes, or until bars are set and edges are lightly browned. Let cool completely before cutting.

Roast Chicken Chimichangas

A few weeks ago J came to visit and usually I am prepared. Prepared as in have the whole menu planned out for his visit, dessert included. This visit I was not prepared in the least, so when it came for dinner on Wednesday night I threw some cookbooks at J and said you pick. It's a good thing I picked a boy who likes food just as much as me and always offers to help me cook, even if I'm a little bossy :-)

Roast Chicken Chimichangas
adapted from: the best of Cooking Light everyday favorites

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups shredded roasted, skinlessm boneless chicken breasts
1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled queso fresco cheese
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (4.5 ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
1 (16 ounce) can fat-free refried beans
6 (8-inch) flour tortillas
cooking spray
1/2 cup bottle green salsa
Guacamole

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 500
2. Combine the chicken, cheese, green onions, oregano, garlic and green chiles in a bowl and toss well.
3. Spread 1/4 cup beans down the center of each tortilla. Top each tortilla with 2/3 cup chicken mixture, roll up.
4. Place rolls, seam side down, in a 9 x 13 pan coated with cooking spray. Coat tops with cooking spray and bake for 7 minutes.
5. Top with extra cheese and serve with guacamole and salsa.

(we had guac too, but I forgot it in the picture)

Butterbeer Jell-O Shots

I'm alive. Much to all of your dismay I have been MIA for almost a month. I'm not so sure where the month went to be honest with you.

Well that's false, it's been consumed with work, interning, class, trips to New Paltz and Maine and minimal sleep. Leaving me zero time to play in the kitchen, thus lack of updates.
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This past weekend I did get to escape the madness of life and go home for the weekend for momma's birthday and Zach& Amanda's wedding celebration at the house.

Poor mom thinking I would be some great help...my only contribution to the party was jell-o shots. Oh, and sleeping until 12:30, missing out on all the fun prep work for the day.

Butterbeer Jell-O Shots
adapted from: Tablespoon

Ingredients:
1 cup creme soda
2 envelopes plain gelatin
1/3 cup vanilla vodka
2/3 cup butterscotch schnapps

Directions:
1. Pour soda into a medium sacue pan and add the gelatin. Let soak for a minute or two.
2. Heat the soda and gelatin mixture over low heat and stir constantly until gelatin is dissolved. About 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. Add the vanilla vodka and butterscotch schnapps. Pour into 3 inch plastic cups and refridgerate until fully set.
4. Serve! And don't let anyone convince you they need a spoon to get it out.

Also, have you ever seen someone take a jell-o shot that has never before done one? Get ready to laugh. With them, of course.

Lasagna Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

This whole working girl thing?

Totally not.my.thing.

I prefer to eat dinner in the hour of 5 or 6. Not 8 or 9 or 10. I am quite terrible a creature of habit and this whole work thing is changing my daily schedule.

But like these mushrooms make for a quick dinner so when it's 10pm and I'm starving, these are ideal. And they are good. I mean its stuffed with cheese. Three kinds to be exact: mozzarella, parmesan and ricotta. In Italy we cooked with ricotta. Like real life ricotta. Not that stuff we get here in the plastic container. Maybe if I ever get around to blogging about Italy, you'll get what I'm saying about we cooked with ricotta.

Lasagna Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
source: Elly Says Opa

Ingredients:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. Italian seasoning, divided
2 tsp. olive oil
2 portobello mushroom caps
1/2 cup ricotta (I used part skim)
2 Tbsp. Parmesan
2 Tbsp. shredded mozzarella cheese (I used part skim)
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
2 Tbsp. breadcrumbs
1/2 cup marinara sauce, divided

Directions:
1.Preheat the oven to 425 degrees, and scrape the gills out of the mushroom caps.
2. In a small bowl, combine half the garlic, 1/8 teaspoon of the Italian seasoning, olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Brush the inside and outside of the caps with the mixture, and roast cap-side down for about 10 minutes. If the mushroom gives off water, blot it up with a paper towel.
3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl stir together the ricotta, remaining garlic and Italian seasoning, Parmesan, 1 Tbsp. mozzarella, basil, and breadcrumbs. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Spoon about 1 Tbsp. marinara into each mushroom cap, then stuff with the ricotta mixture. Spoon another 1-2 teaspoons of sauce over the ricotta, then sprinkle the remaining Parmesan and mozzarella over the sauce.
5. Bake 10-15 minutes, or until the filling is heated through and the cheese has melted.

Rolo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

Back up to Monday real quick. Waking up at 6:15 to be out the door by 7 to drive back to Syracuse (for the second trip home and back in one weekend), sitting in bumper to bumper traffic on 690 aka miserable, sleepy Meli. Couldn't really tell you what I did at my internship because all I could think about was coming home to my bed.  Got my nap in and headed to the gym where I was on my dreaded last five minutes of my work out, so close yet so far when I got a text from J. Thinking nothing of it I assumed it was him responding to whatever mindless thing I had previously told him. Instead this happens:

If you ask my roommates (or our neighbors for that matter) I have a tendency to screach, squeal, flat of scream when I'm excited or for no apparent reason. It just happens, not on purpose, they just come out. Our new neighbors are in for a treat. Nevertheless this is one of those times where squeals were going to happen. But the girl next to me at the gym did not look like she'd enjoy me squealing so I scurried through my work out and ran to my car. Maybe squealing all the way there.

After 10 minutes of not believing him I finally realized that it was real life and my 17 day countdown until Maine just turned into a 2 day countdown until he'd be here. Naturally next course of action was to bake him treats he could bring on his journey back to Maine..a zillion hours in a truck calls for a perfect excuse to eat cookies all day.

Rolo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
slightly adapted from: My Baking Addiction

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
30 rolos, frozen at least 2 hours

Directions:
1.Heat oven to 350°F.
2. In large bowl, beat butter, sugars, vanilla and eggs with electric mixer on medium speed or with spoon until light and fluffy. Mix in flour, baking soda and salt. Mix in chocolate chips.
3. Measure dough to about 1.5 tablespoons. Roll into a ball and then flatten in the palm of your hands.
4. Place a frozen Rolo in the centers of the flattened dough balls and form dough back into a ball around the Rolo.
5. Place Rolo stuffed dough balls into the freezer for 15-20 minutes before baking.
6. On cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, place dough balls 2 inches apart.
7. Bake 11 to 13 minutes or until light brown (centers will be soft). Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack.

These are so dangerous. I ate like ten too many. Also my nails are the color of bubble gum.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Billionaire Bars

We had our first visitor this past weekend, thus we had an excuse to test out the new kitchen and bake our first of many treats to come! As I was searching for what to make this weekend I came across these and knew they would be perfect. J loooooves those little caramel candies, even though he claims they give him lock jaw but he could eat a whole bag. Last year we had them in our candy dish and whenever he came over he headed right to the candy dish.

We invited Emily to help us bake and let me tell you, dysfunctional at its finest. Getting used to a new kitchen is zero fun, we were on top of each other, couldn't find anything and it took three tries to get the chocolate on top right. I burnt it the first two times, go me.

These bars were so worth it. I'm surprised they made it until Friday for J. Actually, I'm surprised the cookie dough made it into the bars. We may or may not have snacked on it while we waited for the first two layers to set. I think there is three little squares left, needless to say they were quite the hit this weekend.

The recipe looks intimidating but its really not that bad, especially when you break up the processes between people. We kept ours in the fridge, but they are best when they are brought to room temperature before eating because everything is soft and gooey and YUM.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Billionaire Bars
source: Brown Eyed Baker


For the Shortbread:
Ingredients:
1/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour


Directions:
In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and salt and beat until combined. Add flour and mix until incorporated. The dough may be slightly crumbly. Firmly press into a lined (parchment paper) 8x8 square baking pan. Poke shallow holes into the surface with a fork. Bake 18 to 22 minutes at 350, or until the edges are lightly golden.


For the Caramel:
Ingredients:
7 ounces soft caramel candies (about 25), unwrapped
2 tablespoons heavy cream


Directions:
Place candies in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Add the heavy cream and stir until completely melted. Pour the hot caramel over the shortbread crust and spread into an even layer. Refrigerate until set, 30 minutes to an hour.

For the Cookie Dough:
Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of Salt
1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips


Directions:
Combine the butter and sugars in a large mixing bowl and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the heavy cream and vanilla; mix well. Add the flour and salt and mix on low speed until incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread the cookie dough on top of the caramel layer. Refrigerate while you make the glaze.


For the Chocolate Glaze:
Ingredients:
4 ounces semisweet or dark chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions:
In a small bowl, combine chocolate and butter and microwave on 50% power in 30-second increments, stirring after each, until completely melted and smooth. Spread glaze over the cookie dough layer and chill until set, about 30 minutes.

Raspberry Mango Sangria

I have been in the car to Syracuse the past three days in a row. I am sick of that stupid thru way and the stupid 690 construction that causes bumper to bumper traffic. But I did get to ride in the moving truck yesterday, pretty nifty.

Yesterday was filled with moving furniture. A whole heck of a lot of furniture. And unpacking. Dear lord I would never like to pack or unpack again. It's consumed my life the past month. No more, please. I would have not been able to do any of this without my wonderous parents who both probably broke their backs yesterday and dealt with all my dictating their every move yesterday, thanks a whole lot!!

But, on a positive note the house is coming along and tomorrow two more friends come! This week is about to be crazy. Tomorrow I start my internship (!!) pending I don't get lost downtown, which is a very good possibility. When I come home from that, Mariah and Tay will be arriving shortly after!! Then Friday 913 is getting their first house guest, Jared's coming!! To say I'm excited for this week would be slightly an understatement.

Totally unrelated to any of this, is the recipe below. Other than the fact that I could go for a big glass right now, it's totally irrelevant. But so good. Goes down like water, I advise you to be careful.


Raspberry Mango Sangria
source: Everyday Food


Stir to combine and refrigerate 1 hour (or up to overnight):
1 mango, peeled and sliced length wise
1 cup raspberries
3 tablespoons raspberry liqueur
1 bottle (750 mL) rose wine

To serve:
add 4 cups of chilled Sprite and ice

excuse my poor pictures, we were on our way out the door to consume this goodness!