Creamy Succa

1 (29 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (10 oz.) can original Rotel, well drained
1 tsp. minced garlic
3 Tbsp. heavy whipping cream
4 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
Grated Parmesan cheese, to taste
Basil, to taste
Sugar, to taste
Garlic powder, to taste

In a medium pot, add tomato sauce and Rotel. Season with basil, sugar, and garlic powder (like you are making a regular pasta sauce). Once it is at the desired taste, add cream cheese. Stir until melted. Add heavy whipping cream, using more, if needed, to reach desired consistency and taste. Next add a few shakes of Parmesan cheese over the top of the sauce, along with the mozzarella cheese and minced garlic. Continue to taste and add spices, as needed, to reach desired taste.

I would first like to say that I love succa. I learned from the best, and I have to say that I feel quite confident that I make a kick butt pasta sauce. Last night when I got home, I decided that I wanted to have pasta for dinner, but I didn't feel like getting back out just to go purchase sauce. So I decided to throw something together to see what I could make. At first I was just going to make a plain succa. Then as I continued to make it, I wished that I had some alfredo sauce to add to it as well. Typically not something we have on hand, so I was a little bummed. And then a light went off. We had cream cheese, mozzarella, parmesan, and heavy whipping cream. The perfect storm! So little by little I added everything, and ended up with this amazing creation. Vann brought home some AWESOME cheese sticks he made at work (thank you Domino's!), and it turned into the perfect meal! I apologize for not having exact measurements for the spices, but that's just not how I roll. I add and adjust as needed until it's the way we like it. And I usually don't add Rotel to our sauce, but it was all that I had, and it actually worked perfectly! It added just the right kick. I took the sauce to work today and it was just as incredible as it was last night. I would suggest not serving this sauce over regular spaghetti. It tasted great, but it just didn't grab on to the goodness as much as I had hoped. Next time I make this, I will either use elbow, macaroni, or rotini noodles. Something to really get ahold of the tastiness! This is a great spin on the already amazing succa! (Pronounced soo-ka, for those who were wondering) :)

Buttercream Icing

Adapted from: food.com Recipe # 69633

1 cup butter
1 cup Crisco
2 lbs. powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. meringue powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. creme bouquet (optional)
3 Tbsp. heavy whipping cream (more or less depending on the consistency you desire)

Cream butter and shortening until fluffy. Add sugar, meringue powder, and cream, continuing to mix until well blended. Add salt, flavorings, and more whipping cream, if needed, to reach desired consistency. Separate and color with gel food coloring (this keeps the consistency the same).

I love this icing! I have tried many buttercream icings throughout my 25 years of life, and I have to say that this one is my favorite. Being homemade has something to do with it, as I have the ability to make it the consistency what I want. I personally love a thick buttercream, one that I can decorate with and it will stick and hold its shape well. If you find that 3 Tbsp. just isn't enough, feel free to add more (I would add 1 Tbsp., or less, at a time. It's better to be safe than sorry!). I find that it worked perfectly, because I also add the creme bouquet, which changes the consistency a little bit as well. I have only made this buttercream for the White Almond Sour Cream Cake, but I am SURE that it would pair well with just about anything. Chocolate cake, red velvet cake, a shoe.... seriously, it's that delicious. I made these cupcakes for my boss's daughter's birthday, and there was still a ton of batter and icing left over, so Vann had the pleasure of making the rest of these while I was at my parents' house, and he was like a kid in a candy shop. And I have to say he did a really great job! Very proud of the hubs :)

White Almond Sour Cream Cake

Adapted from: food.com

2 (18 oz.) boxes white cake mix
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 2/3 cups water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. almond extract
2 cups sour cream
8 large egg whites

Place all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir together with a wire whisk. Add the remaining ingredients and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour into greased and floured cake pans, filling each pan a little over half full. Lightly tap cake pans on counter to bring bubbles to top. Bake at 325 degrees until cakes test done. (If making cupcakes, fill each cupcake liner a little over half full and bake until very lightly brown, or until cakes test done.)

I love this cake. So much. It tastes amazing and it is so easy to throw together. It makes 2 large cakes, but it makes a ton of cupcakes. If anyone ever wants a cake or some cupcakes for anything, this is my go-to recipe. The first time I ever tried this recipe was for my Dad's surprise 70th birthday party. Ever since then it has been requested often, and most importantly, it is loved by everyone who has ever tried it. I like to add creme bouquet to the batter, because I also add that to the buttercream, and it makes them both to die for. You can typically find it at a local bakery shop (there is one in Brentwood that sells it...and Almond Emulsion. Both are very wise picks). However, if you do not have it, don't sweat. It will still be oh so good! I have the butter cream icing recipe soon to follow that pairs tremendously with this cake. It is wonderful!!!

Melt In Your Mouth Chicken

Adapted from: food.com Recipe # 37336

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 tsp. seasoning salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder

Mix mayonnaise, cheese, and seasonings. Place chicken in a baking dish, and spread mixture evenly over chicken. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.

As you can clearly see, I decided to pair this chicken with the oh so delicious creamy garlic pasta we had the other night. The chicken really does melt in your mouth, and it tastes so good. I will admit that the combination of the pasta and the chicken was a little too much for me as far as salt goes (both had Parmesan). However, the chicken alone with some veggies and dinner rolls would make for an awesome dinner. I mixed everything together in the casserole dish, threw the chicken in, then mixed it all up. The only thing I will try next time is maybe cooking the chicken on a roasting pan to separate the grease from the chicken (it was still delicious, I'm not gonna lie!). This would make for a perfect throw together meal, pop it in the oven, and forget about it for 45 minutes. That is my kind of meal!

Creamy Garlic Pasta

Adapted from: thecheesepusher.tumblr.com

2 tsp. olive oil
4 tsp. minced garlic
2 Tbsp. butter
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
3 cups chicken stock
1/2 lb. angel hair pasta
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp. parsley (recipe called for fresh, but we just used dried. It was still super tasty)

In a medium pot, heat olive oil over medium-low heat. Add garlic; cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the butter and allow to melt. Next, add chicken stock, salt, and pepper. Raise to high heat and let it come to a boil. Once stock is a rolling boil, add pasta and cook according to package directions. Reduce heat to medium low; add cheese, stirring until melted. Remove pot completely from heat, then add heavy cream and parsley, mixing until well combined. Serve immediately.

Aaaaand once again I found this recipe on Pinterest. Shocked? Me either. But it's true, and that seems to be quite the trend lately. I have about 600 recipes that I want to try on Pinterest alone. Add that to the other recipes on different websites that I have on my "to try" list, and I would probably have to whip up at least 5 a day to knock out my over-zealous recipe list. It's a doable goal if we were millionaires, and we could just stay at home all day and cook. Of course then we wouldn't be living in an apartment.... I'd have a kick butt kitchen, to say the least. But the reality is that we work. A lot. And we do live in a wonderful apartment, but the kitchen is a little smaller than I desire (my dream kitchen would be GIGANTIC. With self-cleaning pots and dishes. Ha! :) ). And it's rare that I have the time, and the energy, to whip up a good meal nowadays. That's what makes THIS recipe so freaking awesome. It is a one pot meal. ONE POT! That's all it takes! This was creamy and delicious. I doubled it, and I thought it may be too much, but it was perfect. We had enough for dinner last night, lunch today, and dinner again tonight. Wise decision for a busy little family like ours :)

Soft Sugar Cookies

Adapted from: bakeat350.blogspot.com

For the Cookies:
3 & 1/3 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
2/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup salted butter, cut into chunks
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. almond extract

For the Icing:
1/2 cup shortening
1 lb. (4 cups) powdered sugar
Pinch salt
6 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Dash almond extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper (I just used a nonstick cookie sheet. Parchment paper is never nice to me). Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter, shortening, and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and extract, beating until well combined. On low speed, add flour mixture in three additions, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Measure out the dough in 2 Tbsp. chunks and roll in a ball; place on cookie sheet 2" apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until cookies look done but are still soft.

For the icing: Beat shortening, powdered sugar, and salt on low speed until combined. Slowly add in milk and extracts until well combined. Tint as desired.

I love bakeat350.blogspot.com. She makes beautiful cookies, and she has other great recipes, too! I was browsing her blog when I saw this recipe for soft sugar cookies. Though her pictures could probably make you even want to eat a shoe, I saw these and knew that I wanted to try them. Well, Vann and I's 6 month anniversary is tomorrow (yay!!!!), so I decided that I wanted to make him something sweet :) I just took 6 of these puppies up to his work for him to snack on throughout the day, and he had already eaten one before he got inside. The almond extract adds a nice dimension to these cookies, and the mixture of shortening and butter make these cookies to die for. They are so soft, and the frosting is just delicious, especially with the hint of almond (I'm a sucker for almond flavoring). These will definitely be added to my permanent cookbook. They were easy to make, and they are better than anything you could ever get in a store!