Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies

My husband doesn't cook.  He makes a mean mac and cheese, but that's about it.  I'm all the happier because that means my experimenting has free range!  

When I think a recipe looks good and attempt to tell him about the ingredients, his eyes glaze over and he says something like, "sounds good?"  It's about the same way when he tells me about work with computer chips.  So we have our own niches, it's a good thing.

ANYWAY, he was actually the one who saw these and sent me a message that we had to make them.  Correction, I had to make them.  They've graced our kitchen twice now, one of those times was last night.  

Thanks to book club (we read Major Pettigrew's Last Stand - I loved it) that I hosted, I now have a pan full of these.  There may be some unsuspecting people that might get a little treat today...I know I shouldn't have these sitting around!

Go to Sweet Pea's Kitchen for the recipe.  She has some amazing recipes, including more unique brownie recipes.  

P.S. I promise I'll be doing a give-away...I decided to paint my whole house, my oldest started Kindergarten, and my baby decided he wanted to be held all the time.  We're going through adjustments here.  I'm attempting running this morning, as soon as baby wakes up, and I might try my first zumba class tomorrow.  I've heard it's a blast!  Have a fabulous weekend and I hope you get to work-out too!

Pudding Biscuits: Camping Food

What's better than a campfire in the woods in Montana?  Eating a biscuit with pudding and whip topping inside!

We took a little drive to Montana (okay, more like an 11 hour drive) to go camping with my family (parents, siblings and their spouses, kids' cousins) a couple weeks ago.  The whole time I was taking pictures and the phrase, "Bonnie has a blog," came up constantly.  So camping food, you were not forgotten.  And no matter how serious or humorously it was said, here you go.  

My dad made two rounded wooden pegs to stretch the dough over.  Sorry I can't direct you to any store-bought wonder.  He's pretty crafty.

Pudding Biscuits

Oil

1 can Philsbury buiscuts

Snack pack vanilla pudding

Whip Topping

Oil the stick.  Take one buiscut out of the can and place top and work down, making sure you don't break the dough.  Bake over the fire/coals rotating slowly.  You want to cook it slow so the inside gets cooked along with the outside.  When it's browned and baked, slide off the stick and fill with pudding and whip.  Delish!

 

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting

So I have a fabulous neighbor who enjoys yummy treats as much as I do!  This is a recipe you have to try.  The cake is so moist and fresh with the real strawberries.  I loved every bite!

Strawberry Cupcakes
recipe courtesy of Cast Sugar (adapted from Martha Stewart)


1 1/3 c. whole fresh or frozen strawberries, thawed
1 Tbsp honey

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp coarse salt
1/4 c. whole milk, room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
2 large egg whites, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside.

Place strawberries and honey in a small food processor; process until pureed. You should have about 2/3 cup of puree, add a few more strawberries if necessary or save any extra puree for frosting; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a small bowl, mix together milk, vanilla, and strawberry puree; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg and egg whites until just blended.

With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the milk mixture; mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended.

Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in tin before icing.

Sprinkles' Strawberry Frosting
recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart
Makes enough for 1 dozen cupcakes (this is such a lie! It makes a ton!).

1/2 cup whole frozen strawberries, thawed
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, firm and slightly cold
Pinch of coarse salt
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Place strawberries in the bowl of a small food processor; process until pureed. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce mixer speed and slowly add confectioners' sugar; beat until well combined. Add vanilla and 3 tablespoons strawberry puree (save any remaining strawberry puree for another use); mix until just blended. Do not overmix or frosting will incorporate too much air. Frosting consistency should be dense and creamy, like ice cream.

Over 100!

So remember when summer took over our lives?  It did for me and has been tons of fun!  This past couple of weeks have been crazy busy with camping, playing with friends, and suffering in a Portland heat wave (that has since cooled off...at least until this weekend).  I have camping recipes ready to share with you - dutch oven cooking is the best.

Something else happened around here - there are now over 100 followers for Pretty Dubs.  I'm happy that I've been able to share some things that you all enjoy.  It makes this blog totally worth it.  SO IN CELEBRATION...I want to make something to give away.  BUT I think it would be fun to have your input.

My idea is a ruffle apron.  Is there anything on here that you'd enjoy seeing as a giveaway?

This corn was awesome while we were camping.  Fresh and moist, although we boiled it instead of putting it over the fire.

Summer Salad Tasting and Recipe Exchange

Such a fun night last night!  We haven't had any recipe exchanges among friends for a while and this was a perfect kick-off.  We each brought a salad recipe, labeled it with its name and ours, and took turns tasting everything.  


We plan on continuing our food parties by volunteering to host/pick a dish type or ingredient and have started a blog to document The Recipes.  The person running the blog for us took pictures at the event to post along with the recipe.  Awesome idea.


So if you wanted to start a food swap like this, send an email to your friends with the date/time/place and with the instructions to either bring a recipe or email it to you for an electronic distribution (however you want to plan yours).  You will also need to specify the food type.  For example, it could be *salads, desserts, meatless main dishes, drinks, breakfast foods OR you could even choose an ingredient, saying everyone has to bring something with feta or chili powder or chicken, etc.  Have fun! 

Bean Salad

1 can green beans

1 can white beans

1 can red kidney beans

1 can garbanzo beans

1 can black beans

1/4 - 1/2 red onion, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp ground dry mustard

1 tsp dried tarragon

Drain all the beans and mix together in a large bowl.  Add the diced onion, diced green and red peppers, and chopped cilantro.  Set aside.  In a small saucepan, mix the vinegar, oil, sugar, dry mustard, and tarragon over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and pour over bean mixture.  Stir until all ingredients are coated.  Let sit in the fridge to marinate, stirring occasionally.  (Still good if eaten right away)  *Hominy is also a yummy ingredient to add.

Original source: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/three-bean-salad-i/detail.aspx

A Busy Week

The last couple weeks have been busy around here.  I helped one of the young women from our church make a quilt, had my sister and her hubs visit, and worked a ton in the yard.  Yesterday I had to top it off with some cinnamon rolls.  I can't believe we're on the count-down for summer to end!  It has flown by.

I'll show a picture of the finished quilt, I don't want to spoil it.  But here's the fabric we used and it turned out beautiful!

I did practice some heel kick at the beach!  It was a beautiful day and we had tons of fun.  The famous Cannon Beach domes are in the background.

If you ever go to Cannon Beach, go the the Ecola Seafood place.  (bad name...hmmm)  All their fish is fresh and their fish and chips are the best I've ever tasted!

The kids are really enjoying our new swing set!  

And then we did squeeze in some puppet making project time.  I was a cool mom that day!  (Sometimes I feel like a slacker, but making puppets clothing from fabric makes up for it...maybe)

And this is what I ate for breakfast!  I made and delivered some warm cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting last night.  I don't know why taking baked goods to people makes me happy...but I'm glad it does.  The only downfall is that I end up eating way to many myself.  Find the recipe here, but the frosting recipe is this one: doubled, minus the cocoa, and plus 4 oz of cream cheese.

Lay Baby Lay

I happened upon an awesome nursery decorating blog.  Joni at lay baby lay makes design boards for nursery decorating ideas.  I wish I had a room for a nursery, but don't.  Even so, there are some awesome pieces and inspiration in her vignettes.  You'll be sucked in.

She has this free printable.  Love it.  It's printed in blue and ready to find a frame.  You can find it here.