Are you ready to RUMBLE?!

This year's Super Bowl celebration will be held at Camille's house. (Which is usually is because her projector makes it seem like you're on the field!) But everyone was in charge of bringing a treat of somekind. So, Nate and I decided to make his favorite dinner dish, along with an oldie but goodie dessert recipe that is as easy as gets. It may be true that I don't really watch football, okay I don't watch it at all, but I am always up for a reason to cook some tasty food!

Crock Pot French Dips

From Family Friendly Recipes

2-3 Lbs. oven roast

2 cans beef broth (about 4 cups)

2 pkgs Lipton Onion Soup mix

White Italian Sub Rolls (We get our bread from Subway, they sell a 12" roll for .50!)

Provolone cheese slices

Put oven roast in a crock pot. Add beef broth and soup mix. Cook on LOW for 7-8 hours. Shred roast with a fork, then return the shredded beef to the crock pot for a few more minutes (to absorb more of that juicy goodness). Slice open the bread and place a good amount of beef on one side (scoop out some of the bread first if you don't like it really bread-y). Place a slice or two of Swiss cheese over the shredded beef and broil for a minute or so until cheese starts to bubble and brown a little. Remove from broiler and serve. Use a ladle to scoop out some of the juice from the crock pot and serve as au jus.

Cookie Crumble Cheescakes

12 Vanilla Wafers/12 Oreo Cookies, plus a few exras for crumbling

(Use whichever you'd prefer, or double all other ingredients to do both)

12 foil cupcake liners

2 packages cream cheese

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place one cookie in the bottom of each foil liner, place liners on cookie sheet; crush a few cookies to top cakes later. Mix cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla together in a mixer on medium speed untill well blended. Add eggs to batter one at a time, on low speed, just untill incorporated. Spoon batter evenly into liners. Sprinkle top of batter with cookie crumbles. Bake cakes 20-25 minutes, or untill centers are just starting to set up. Let cool in fridge for at least 3 hours, or overnight.

Bakerella's Cupcake Bites

So, Nate's cousin Candace is having a baby girl in March... I have been waiting for someone to have a baby shower, to celebrate their good news of course! (But also so I could have an excuse to make these adorably cute little morsels of goodness!) Candace's baby shower is on Saturday, so I thought I would get a head start, and try a few Cupcake Bites out early. I was taken aback by how much work they truely are, but I think they will be worth it! These are my first batch, I am hoping as I practice they will look better :) But for a first attempt, I think they turned out okay! For anyone who likes to bake, you must head over to Bakerella's Blog and browse her site! You can find her recipe for cupcake bites on this page. She is amazing.... I am totally inspired by her!

Skor Cake

This cake is so good... and so simple! I got the recipe from a ward cookbook that my Aunt Wendy gave me for Christmas. It is jam packed full of tasty recipes, and when Nate's mom said I could make dessert for family dinner today, I knew this was my pick! I did substitute a Heath bar for a Skor bar today; I couldn't find a Skor bar at Target! But that's okay, it was still toffee-ish and good none the less!

This picture needs no introductions because for once I did not borrow it from someone elses blog, I took it myself...which is why it is not nearly as good a picture as the others I have posted in the past. Try this cake out, you'll love how easy it is! Enjoy!

Skor Cake

1 Box Devils Food Cake Mix

1 Carton Cool Whip

I Jar Mrs. Richardson's Caramel Butterscotch Sauce

1 Skor Bar, chopped

Bake cake according to package directions. While cake is still warm, poke holes all over cake with a straw, and cover cake with the caramel sauce. Let cake cool completely. "Frost" with Cool Whip, and top with Skor bar. Yum!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cookies

Here is another recipe from a blog that I follow. The Picky Palate (her blog link is on the right hand side of my blog) probably has the best treat recipes I have ever seen! This is definitely one of them! I even use this recipe minus the cookie dough bites for good ole' plain chocolate chip cookies! Try them either way... They are the best! I think they are fabulous!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cookies
2 sticks softened butter
¾ Cup brown sugar
¾ Cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 ¾ Cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
1 Cup semi sweet chocolate chips
2 6 oz boxes Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a stand or electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars until well combined. Beat in eggs and vanilla until well mixed. In a separate bowl sift the flour, baking soda and salt. Slowly add to wet ingredients along with the chocolate chips and cookie dough bites until just combined.
2. With a cookie scoop, scoop onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until cooked to your liking. I usually take mine out right at 9 minutes for a softer cookie. Let cool on baking sheet for 3-5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.

About 36 cookies

Frosted Banana Bars=YUM!

Frosted Banana Bars

Much like Nate's new music selection on the blog, I have decided to post a recipe that we have tried, and really like! I love to cook; I like turning a few random ingredients into something that is incredibly tasty! Which is definitely the situation with these Frosted Banana Bars. I found this recipe at the My Kitchen Cafe Blog (which is where the picture came from too); she has a great blog with some awesome tried and true recipes. Nate loved these bars, and I thought they were so good, banana bread couldn't even be placed in the same family! Get out those yucky black bananas and get to cookin' something good!

Frosted Banana Bars

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup ripe, mashed bananas

frosting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10x15 jellyroll pan. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the sour cream and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; stir into the batter. Finally, mix in the mashed bananas. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Bake 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow bars to cool completely before frosting.

Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8 oz package cream cheese

1 cup white sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. Set aside. In a medium bowl, beat whipped cream until soft peaks form. Fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture. Frost your banana bars to your heart's delight!