A Sweet Treat – Raspberry Cheesecake Cookies

After having 10 days off, it was pretty hard heading back to the office. To make it a little easier, DH and the kids spent time baking cookies so I would have a special treat to take with me. DH found a new recipe he wanted to try and of course Baby was ready to tie on her apron and get baking! I really wanted Daddy to wear the matching apron of mine, but you can probably guess how that request was received.

Ingredients
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1 (17.5 ounce) pouch sugar cookie mix
2/3 cup raspberry baking chips

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a bowl, beat the cream cheese until soft and fluffy with an electric mixer, then beat in the egg until thoroughly combined.

3. Mix in the cookie mix, then stir in the raspberry chips.

4. Drop the dough about 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets with a tablespoon or small scoop. Lightly pat the cookies to flatten.

5. Bake in the preheated oven until the edges of the cookies are lightly golden, 9 to 12 minutes. Cool before serving.

We substituted semi sweet chocolate mini chips since they were on hand from other holiday baking. They were also kind of preferred, since our house is full of blossoming chocoholics.

Matching aprons and the threat of salmonella aside, fun was had by all.

I took a few cookies to the office when I returned, and it surely did make my day just a little bit sweeter.

What do you do to ease yourself back into the work routine after vacation?

You can find the recipe here at AllRecipes.com.

Tacos in Pasta Shells…Delicious!

In our house, nothing says Friday night like some warm queso, tortilla chips and beer. So why not follow that up with some tacos…made in pasta shells.

Can you say YUM?

Ingredients
1 pound lean ground turkey
1 package taco seasoning
18 jumbo pasta shells
1 can Rotel tomatoes with green chilies
2 cans enchilada sauce
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Optional sour cream and black olives for topping

Directions
1. In a large skillet, brown turkey over medium heat until no longer pink; drain.
2. Add taco seasoning according to package directions.
3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta shells and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
5. Coat bottom of baking dish with enchilada sauce
6. Fill pasta shells with beef mixture and arrange in a 9×13 inch baking dish
7. Pour Rotel tomatoes and enchilada sauce over shells

8. Bake in oven20 minutes or until heated through
9. Remove dish from oven and top with Cheddar cheese; return dish to oven to melt cheese
10. Top with optional sour cream and black olives before serving

This was a super easy dish to make. The hardest part was browning the ground turkey and stuffing the shells.

It’s perfect for a no stress Friday night dinner. The best part, each person can top the shells with anything they like. If you wanted some lettuce or jalapenos, just throw them right on top of the stuffed shells and enjoy!
Don’t like olives, don’t put them on. You get the idea.

DH super modified the recipe he found here at AllRecipes.com, so now you have two options in one post!

What’s you favorite easy dinner to make on Friday night?

Super Easy Garlic Parmesan Pull Apart Bread

I am completely addicited to pull apart bread lately. It brings back a number of memories of my mom baking buttery garlic pull apart to accompany our weekly spaghetti dinners. Being queen of short cuts, I tried making a pepperoni and mozzarella version using the premade pizza dough from my local Publix grocery store. The trial came out so well, I decided to make a super loaded version for a friend’s Christmas Eve party.

I was a little over zealous when buying the packages of dough, so with some of the leftover dough, I made smaller version for my own family spaghetti night. In a nutshell, this is a super simple version of the the amazing Garlic Parmesan Pull-Apart Bread over at the The Pastry Affair that started this obsessession in the first place.

Ingredients:
1 Package premade pizza dough
1/4 C Parmesan and Basil Dipping Olive Oil
2 T Garlic Powder
1/3 C Grated Parmesan cheese
Marinara sauce for dipping (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Pour flavored dipping oil in bowl
3. Cut dough into small 1″ pieces add to olive oil and toss to coat
4. Add coated dough pieces to bundt pan; layer with garlic powder and grated parmesan cheese
5. Bake in oven for 35-40 minutes until golden brown
6. Remove from bundt pan and serve warm with optional marinara sauce for dipping

Serious deliciousness!

What’s your favorite style of bread to accompany spaghetti night?

Sugar Coma Festivals – Fall Edition Ticket Giveaway

Do you love indulging in the occasional sweet treat or do you have a full blown sugar addiction? If you answered yes to either of those questions, then this event is for you!

Designed for the discriminating sweet tooth, it’s an afternoon of indulging in cookies, cakes, candies…and much, much more…in a NO JUDGEMENT, family-friendly zone. You can taste until your heart’s content.

I have been to a few past Sugar Coma affairs, and they do not disappoint. Baby and Jed were all smiles when they went with me to the last event. With the dynamic campus of Atlantic Station as the backdrop, Sugar Coma Festival is the ideal environment for dates, girlfriend outings and a post-Sunday dinner dessert buffet.

Are you interested in attending the Fall Sugar Coma Festival? You can easily click here to register for tickets, or you can try and WIN a set of two FREE tickets (compliments of the always lovely, Shameeka, Broke Socialite right here!

All you need to do is leave me a comment below telling me your favorite sweet treat to eat.

This CAN NOT get any easier for you.
Seriously.

You can follow Sugar Coma Events on twitter here and on Facebook here so you stay in the know for all future sweet events.

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The Fine Print:
You must be 18 and older and a US resident (lower 48 states only) to win.
Please be sure to add your email address in case you win!
Contest is open until midnight on Sunday, November 6, 2011.
Winner will be chosen randomly, notified via email and has 24 hours to respond.
If no response is received another winner will be chosen.

Slow Cooker Salisbury Steak – A Hearty Hug to Fix a Rough Day

This week had it’s share of rainy, gray days. Tuesday, after a crappy drive home in traffic, sitting for most of it in pouring down rain, I walked into a house smelling of tasty goodness. DH had made salisbury steak in the crockpot and was serving it over egg noodles. The hearty, warm meal melted away the ickies and stress from the miserable drive home.

Sadly, since I was sitting in traffic while this delicious dish was being prepared, there are no pictures. I did however find one on Pinterest and it looked similar so I thought it would be fun to share.

Photo credit from Mommy’s Kitchen
PS…I have to know where she got that awesome divided crockpot! Very cool!

Ingredients
2 pounds lean ground beef
1 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix
1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
1 (1 ounce) packet dry au jus mix
3/4 cup water

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef, onion soup mix, bread crumbs, and milk using your hands. Shape into 8 patties.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Dredge the patties in flour just to coat, and quickly brown on both sides in the hot skillet.
4. Place browned patties into the slow cooker stacking alternately like a pyramid.
5. In a medium bowl, mix together the cream of chicken soup, au jus mix, and water.
6. Pour over the meat. Cook on the Low setting for 4 or 5 hours, until ground beef is well done.

BIG KUDOS to DH on this one! He did a great job searing the patties before adding them to the crock pot. You could taste the caramelized flavor of the meat even when smothered in the hearty gravy. I will say the dish was a little salty for our tastes. Next time we will be trying it with low sodium soups and possibly a different mixture of seasoning for the meat, rather than the onion soup mixed used in the recipe. Over all though, the meal was delicious and definitely perked up my evening.

What’s your favorite dish to perk yourself up after a gloomy, rainy or particularly gray day?

You can find the recipe DH used here on AllRecipes.com.

Family Night Out Event at Mia’s Pizza & Eats with Cumming Local!

Don’t forget to enter the giveaway for a $20.00 gift certificate here!

Grab your ticket, mark your calendar, and come eat with Cumming Local and Mia’s Pizza!

Mia’s Pizza & Eats Gift Certificate #Giveaway

Last week I told you about attending a mini bloggy get together with some fab neighbor’s out here in the North OTP (outside the perimeter). I also mentioned the owners have graciously given a $20.00 gift certificate to do a giveaway for my readers!

It’s giveway time here at In The Kitchen. Yes, Mia’s is a local restaurant, so not everyone will want to enter, but that just leaves a bigger opportunity for all you locals! Wahoo!!!

To Enter: Go to the Mia’s Pizza & Eats website and return here to leave me a comment telling me which one of their menu items you’d like to try!

Once you’ve entered by leaving a comment, you can gain additional entries (all completely optional):

• Follow @miaspizzaneats and @InTheKitchenKP on Twitter (leave user name – 1 entry)
• Tweet this giveaway – “I want to win a gift certificate from @miaspizzaneats & @InTheKitchenKP http://wp.me/pT7cz-LL” (You may tweet one time each day, and must post the link to your tweet as a new comment)
• ‘Like’ Mia’s Pizza & Eats on Facebook (leave a note on the wall and tell them InTheKitchenKP sent you -1 entry)
• ‘Like’ In The Kitchen With KP on Facebook (leave user name – 1 entry)

Mia’s has wonderful food and serves it up in a warm and inviting family atmosphere. It’s definitely a place you want to return to again and again. Help celebrate National Pizza Month or just enter for a night off from cooking! It’s as easy as pizza pie to do!

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The fine print:

Gift certificate only available for use at specified location above.
The winner will be selected randomly and will have 48 hours to respond to the notification email before an alternate winner is selected.
Giveaway is open until midnight on Saturday, October 29, 2011.
Must be 18 years of age or older.

Sunday Baking in the Kitchen – Low-Fat Blueberry Bran Muffins

It’s a lazy Sunday. We had a breakfast of leftover ham and hash brown casserole, DH headed out for a walk while I sipped coffee and tweeted watched some cartoons with the kids. When he returned he was was ready to bake. Baby loves blueberry muffins and he promised earlier in the week to make her some.

DH also wanted to make a version a little healthier than the store bought ones, so he found this recipe for blueberry bran muffins. He and Baby set to baking while I was upstairs working on the next installment of the great organization project of 2011, so I apologize for the lack of pictures during the making of the muffins.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups wheat bran
1 cup nonfat milk
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 egg
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup blueberries

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Grease muffin cups or use paper muffin liners.
3. Mix together wheat bran and milk, and let stand for 10 minutes.
4. In a large bowl, mix together applesauce, egg, brown sugar, and vanilla. Beat in bran mixture.
5. Sift together all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir into bran mixture until just blended.
6. Fold in blueberries.
7. Scoop into muffin cups.
8. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until tops spring back when lightly tapped.

The muffins turned out great! Kudos to DH for his recipe choice! The only change DH made to the recipe was substituting wheat germ for the wheat bran. They fresh blueberries had a nice pop of tartness and the muffin didn’t crumble as you took a bite. I can’t stand crumbly muffins! As I ate one, my inner Paula Deen was screaming the muffin would taste even better with some butter slathered on it, but we were trying to make a healthier version, y’all. It’s also nice DH used the mini muffin tins. This way it’s a fun treat to accompany Baby’s usual bowl of cereal breakfast.

Did you bake anything this weekend?

You can find the recipe here at AllRecipes.com.

Mom’s Night Out – Mia’s Pizza and Eats

Last week I had the pleasure of getting together with a few other local bloggers that live out in the sticks North of Atlanta. Most of the meetups I attend are in Buckhead or Midtown Atlanta, so an offer to get together close to my own house was a rare treat. No long commute back home before I can crawl into bed. Score!

Our mini meetup was organized by the lovely Mandi, from Cumming Local. If y’all remember, Mandi also organized the get together where I let my inner artist shine! Anywhoooo…we all got together to check out a fun family friendly restaurant called, Mia’s Pizza & Eats.

Owner’s, Mike and Clori opened the restaurant in 2009 and named it after their precious daughter, Mia. Our group was not only joined for dinner by Clori, but also the cute, pajama wearing, Mia, made the occasional appearance too. We happily chatted away learning about the origins of the restaurant, while feasting heartily on freshly prepared creations like the Mia Tomato Mop, a phenomenal goat cheese and marinara dip and some warm spinach artichoke dip. After appetizers, we were treated to a variety of pizzas, sandwiches, and calzones. Mia’s dough is made fresh every day in their kitchen and you can tell! It was all delicious!

Check out this adorable tiger pizza they offer on their kid’s menu!

Photo courtesy of Clori

After dinner, Clori arranged for some desserts to be brought out for us. Of course we were all stuffed, but trust me when I say we all made a little bit more room in our tummies to try some cheesecake, cannolis, and frozen oreo ice cream pie, all made right there at the restaurant!  I swear, you could have rolled us all out to our cars after this meal! I have to give a HUGE thank you to Mike and Clori for hosting our meetup. The food was over the top and the evening was delightful.

To further foster Mia’s family friendly atmosphere, they are partnering with Cumming Local to sponsor a FAMILY NIGHT OUT event that includes a discounted menu, kids’ crafts, favor bags, and giveaways. The event is free to participate (except for price of food ordered), but participants must register here and receive a ticket. The first 40 people to sign up get “swag bags” filled with coupons and certificates to area businesses. How awesome is that?!

FAMILY NIGHT OUT DETAILS
When: Monday, October 24th
Time: 5:00pm – 8:00pm (drop in)
Where: Mia’s Pizza &  Eats – 911 Marketplace Blvd, Cumming GA 30022
Don’t forget you must register in advance for this event HERE.

As an extra special treat from Clori and Mike, I left with a $20 gift certificate to Mia’s Pizza & Eats to offer up to you all! Make sure you keep and eye out next week, or go ahead and subscribe to my blog, so you don’t miss the announcement details of the giveaway.

By the way, did you know October is national Pizza Month?  If you need an excuse to eat pizza (not that my family ever does, especially on a Friday after a long school/work week), then this is it!  To celebrate Pizza Month, Mia’s is also featuring some weekly specialty pizzas featuring local ingredients.  YUM!

Mark your calendars for the FAMILY NIGHT OUT event and get your stretchy pants on to make your way over to Mia’s Pizza & Eats to chow down on some amazing Italian food!  Hopefully, we’ll see you there!

You can find Mia’s Pizza and Eats on Facebook here or on Twitter here.

Sunday Comfort Food – Chicken Pot Pie

It’s Sunday, and another busy weekend comes to close.
Time for some good old, warm up your soul, comfort food. I know it was in the 80s again today here in Georgia, but just bear with me. DH was itching for some chicken pot pie so HE set out to make some. He was all ready to attempt to make his first ever pie crust from scratch, but I talked him out of it.

Pie crust is hard. Or so I hear. It’s not like I ever made it, but I watch it being made on the Food Network all the time. I figured he needed to get his feet wet working with some premade pastry dough first, even if it was just to see what it was like lining the baking dish, crimping the edges, etc. There’s plenty of time, with the cooler weather coming, for him to perfect a personal pie crust technique by the holidays. For now…store bought will do just fine.

Ingredients
1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, boiled
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of potato soup

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Line a 9 inch pie dish with pastry crust
3. Blanch frozen mixed vegetables for 3 to 4 minutes. Drain. (DH used a microwaveable bag of green beans)
4. Dice chicken and place in a large bowl. Add vegetables, thyme, celery soup and potato soup. Stir together.
5. Pour filling into pastry lined pie dish. Arrange top layer of pie crust, seal and flute the edges. Cut slits in the top of the crust to allow for steam to escape.
6. Place pie on cookie sheet. Put aluminum foil around the pie crust edges. Bake at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for 30 minutes. 7. Remove foil and continue to bake for an additional 30 minutes until golden brown.
8. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes and then serve.

Doesn’t this look incredible?

Perfectly golden brown. Warm, comforting and delicious.

For next time, we will add assorted vegetables. I only had a bag of green beans handy. Baby requested carrots, but no peas, so we’ll see what we can do. I commend my husband for tackling this recipe. I have never even bought pastry dough for a pie crust. And he said it was so easy, he is already talking about using it again to make an apple pie.
Nice!
Perfect for the start of Fall.

What is your favorite comfort food recipe?

You can find the recipe here at AllRecipes.com.