Ooey Gooey Butter Cake

This recipe is really more a bar than a cake, although it is made with cake mix and is super easy. It is also called Neiman-Marcus Butter cake. There are a few recipes and they are similar. 

I liked it better the first day, but had no problems eating it the second day.  So much so that I was FORCED to put it out for my housekeeping crew.  They loved it, too.

Ooey Gooey Butter Cake

1 box yellow cake mix

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 eggs

1 Tablespoon vanilla

Topping

1 Package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup butter, melted

4 cups (or one box) powdered sugar

Heat oven to 350°.  Spray 9x13 inch baking dish. Set aside. 

In a large bowl or stand mixer mix together the cake mix, 2 eggs, vanilla and melted butter. The batter will be thick.

Spread it in the prepared dish. You may need to pat and press it down to cover the bottom of the dish.

Place the softened cream cheese, eggs, vanilla and melted butter in a stand mixer, or use a hand held mixer. 

Mix until combined and smooth.  

Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time and mix until incorporated. 

Pour the cream cheese mixture over the cake mixture and spread evenly.  

Bake 35-45 minutes. Remove when the edges start to brown but the center is still a bit jiggly.  Don't over bake.

Cool, cut into squares and serve.  You may want to dust the top with a bit more powdered sugar.  I thought it added to the presentation!

This was a very delicious bar. And it was taste tested on a lot of people!

Deviled Potatoes

 When I saw a recipe for deviled potatoes I was hooked. Who doesn't love deviled eggs and potatoes? I love a twice baked potato, but this was different, so I was not sure how they would turn out.  I ended up liking them and I think you will too.

Deviled Potatoes

Tiny Yukon Gold Potatoes

salt and pepper to taste

Mayo, mustard and pickle relish to taste

Toppings of your choice,  chives, paprika, whatever you use on a deviled egg.

I was just making these for the two of us so I didn't top them with anything.

 

Wash the potatoes and place them in a saucepan.  Cover them with water and boil 10-15 minutes, until fork tender. Drain and rinse with cool water, just enough to cool them a bit. 

Set them on a cutting board until cool enough to handle, but still warm.  Cut them in half lengthwise. 

Scoop out the middles of the potatoes leaving a thin border to hold their shape.  I used a metal teaspoon. 

Place the middles in a small bowl 

and smash them with a fork. Add the mayo, mustard and relish.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Refill the potato shells with the potato mayo mixture.  Top with your choice of toppings or enjoy them as they are. 

If one or two of the shells break when scooping out the middles or as you are filling them, this is a good thing.  It gives you more filling than potatoes and you can mound them up a bit.

This made a very nice side dish.  And the leftovers were nice right from the refrigerator and also nice when warmed a bit in the microwave.

Garlic Butter Honey BBQ Chicken Tacos

 I saw a post about garlic butter honey BBQ chicken tacos. I have a few garlic butter recipes on this blog. Who doesn't liked garlic butter? Add in honey and BBQ sauce and I was all in. 

I also love tacos, so this seemed like a perfect meal. Put enough veggies on the taco and you have a complete meal.

Garlic Butter Honey BBQ Tacos

2 chicken breasts

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

salt and papper

The sauce

3 Tablespoons butter

3 cloves minced garlic, about 2-3 teaspoons

1/2 cup BBQ sauce of your choice

2 Tablespoons honey

1 Tablespoon apple cider honey

8 small flour tortillas, I used the fajita size.

Prepare your favorite mix of tacos toppings. I chose lettuce, cilantro, sliced avocado, diced tomatoes, diced onions and sour cream. Do this first as the rest goes pretty fast.

Set aside.

Cut the chicken breast into bite sized cubes. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper and mix.

Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium high heat.  Add the chicken and cook until you can't see any more pink, about 5-7 minutes.

Remove the chicken and set aside. 

Take a paper towel to remove any excess liquid from the pan. Don't burn yourself!

Return the pan to the heat and add the butter. When melted add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds while stirring. If you cook garlic for too long it turns bitter.

Stir in the BBQ sauce, honey and apple cider vinegar. Stir until combined.

Return the chicken to the pan and heat through.  

Turn the heat way down to keep the chicken warm while you heat the tortillas.

I have an electric griddle that I turned to 300°. You can heat the tortillas on a skillet but by the time you get to the last ones, the first ones are cooling!

After they are warm, wrap them loosely in a clean cloth and serve.

These were really good tacos. The chicken was tender and sweet with a hint of acid from the vinegar. 

This was a sweeter taco than the traditional spicy tacos, but they were really good and I will make them again. I loaded my taco with a lot of veggies and this cut the sweet taste a bit.

Try these tacos. You will like them.

Lemon Blueberry Muffins

I love cooked or baked blueberries. I don't like fresh blueberries for some reason. Maybe texture? I don't know why, but I really like them cooked or baked so I made some muffins with blubes! Lemons add such a brightness to baked goods, so that was easy to decide.

Lemon Blueberry Muffins

1 3/4 cups flour, plus 1 Tablespoon reserved

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 Tablespoons butter, room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

1 Tablespoon lemon zest, you'll likely need 2 lemons altogether

2 eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 Tablespoons milk

1 1/2 cups blueberries

Crumb Topping

1/3 cup flour

2 teaspoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 Tablespoons melted butter

Preheat the oven to 425°. Spray a muffin pan with Pam.  I used a silicone muffin "pan" that I set in a regular muffin pan for stability.  I sprayed it with Pam.

Place the butter in a stand mixer and beat with the paddle.  

While it is beating zest 2 lemons and squeeze the juice through a strainer to keep the seeds out.

Wash and dry the blueberries and put them in a medium bowl. Sprinkle the reserved Tablespoon of flour over the blueberries and mix.  This should help to keep them all from sinking to the bottom of the muffins. Set aside.

Put the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and whisk it together. Set aside.

Scrape down the butter as it is beating until fluffy and light. Add the sugar and lemon zest to the butter and beat some more.  Then beat in the eggs, sour cream and vanilla. Next add the milk and lemon juice and keep mixing.

Add the flour mixture and blend it until all the flour is incorporated.  

Don't over mix.

Remove the mixing bowl from the mixer. Fold in the blueberries. 

 

Use a large cookie scoop to fill each muffin cup to the top. 

Make the crumb topping. 

In a small bowl melt the butter in the microwave.  Cover it with a paper towel so it doesn't spit all over the inside of the microwave. 

Add the flour, brown sugar and zest. To be honest I just used the last of the zest from the two lemons I zested. It was probably a bit more than 1 teaspoon.

Mix with a fork until well blended.

Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with the crumb topping and gently press down. 

Here is the tricky part that I learned from reading it on Sally's Baking Addiction. Bake for 5 minutes at 425°. Then without removing the muffins, lower the temperature to 350°. This technique is to make the tops bake up tall. Bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until the muffins are golden brown on top and a tester comes out clean.

Let cool for 5 minutes in the pan and remove to a cooling rack.

These muffins were lemony and filled with the creamy sweetness of the blueberries.  And at just the right texture!

Zucchini Parmesan Pinwheels

I love making things with puff pastry. I usually use Pepperidge Farm puff pastry and I had some in the freezer. I have made a lot of dessert type things with puff pastry.  But I wanted to try a savory recipe.

I had shredded Parmesan and a few Lil Smokies left over from other recipes. I got a zucchini and worked up a recipe.

Zucchini Parmesan Pinwheels

1 cup grated zucchini, about a medium zucchini

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan

2 Lil Smoklies cut in cubes (optional)

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 sheet Pepperidge Farm puff pastry

1 egg

Set out one sheet of puff pastry to thaw.  Don't try unfolding it until it is warm enough to do so easily.

Preheat the oven to 425°. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet.

In a medium bowl mix the zucchini, Parmesan cheese, garlic salt, and Italian Seasoning.  I had a few Lil Smokies left over from making some bacon wrapped smokies. The recipe is also on this blog. I cut them  in about 1/4 inch squares.

Drizzle 2 Tablespoons over the vegetable mixture. Stir and set aside.

Roll out the puff pastry to smooth out the fold lines.  You may need a little flour on the counter to prevent sticking. I used a 3 1/2 inch circle cutter.  Okay, it was 3 7/16 but that is a distinction without a difference.

Carefully cut six circles close to each other, leaving a strip on the side.  Save the strip. Place about 2 Tablespoons of the zucchini mixture in the middle of one circle.  Use a wet finger to moisten the edge all around the dough circle. 

Gently stretch another circle and place it on top of the vegetable mound, lining up the edges.  Press the edges together.  Use a sharp paring knife and cut eight slits about 3/4 of the way to the center evenly around the circle.

Twist each wedge about 1/4 turn and use a bench scraper to transfer the pinwheel to the prepared baking sheet.  Repeat with the over circles. I use a rolling pin to press out the saved strip. 

You can use two sheets and make six pinwheels. That way you'll have some wasted puff pastry but I hate waste! 

I cut the strip in half and then made two additional square zucchini pastries.  Strangely, when I cut he slits and twisted them, they looked like a round pinwheel.

Beat an egg and brush each pinwheel.

Bake 20 minutes or until the pinwheels are golden brown.

Let cool about 5 minutes and transfer to a plate with a spatula.

 

This recipe made 5 pinwheels with only a few shreds left over and can be doubled to serve more.

I served it with a salad.

I loved the crispy pastry with the perfectly cooked zucchini and touch of salty cheese.