Make This NOW!

Disclaimer: mine is not as pretty as it could be because Tony doesn't like cherries so this one was plain jane but still DELICIOUS!

Ingredients:

1 box Duncan Hines Yellow Cake Mix

1 1/3 cup Pineapple Juice

1/3 cup Vegetable Oil

3 large Eggs

1 Tablespoon Vanilla

2/3 cup butter

1 2/3 cup brown sugar

1 (20 oz) can Sliced Pineapple

Maraschino Cherries

Preheat oven to 350.

In a small sauce pan melt the butter.

Pour the butter into into a 9 x 13 pan and sprinkle the brown sugar over the melted butter.

Arrange the pineapple slices in the pan in nice little neat rows. Add 1 cherry in the middle of each pineapple slice.

In a mixer bowl, mix cake mix, pineapple juice, oil, eggs and vanilla on medium speed for about 2 minutes.

Pour the cake batter into the pan over the pineapple.

Bake for 30-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let cook in the pan for 5 minutes. Invert onto your serving dish.

DIG IN!

This was so moist and wonderful! The last time I had pineapple upside down cake was immediately after I delivered Emmy and it was hospital-cooked. I was determined to have it again without having to go through childbirth for it! If you make it, let me know how it turns out! :)

Delicious and Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love these cookies! They stay so soft for days after you make them. Plus, they're easy to make. Here's what you'll need.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (I used Country Crock spread)
• 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 (12 ounce) bag semisweet chocolate chips, or chunks
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt

*you can also add in chopped nuts. This time I added in some walnuts.*

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone sheets (saves so much cleaning time!).

Put the butter in a microwave safe bowl, cover and microwave on medium until melted (about a minute or so). Cool slightly. Whisk the sugars, eggs, butter and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt in another bowl. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients with a wooden spoon; be careful not to over mix (no clue what this means, but I was cautious for some mysterious over mixing.) Stir in the chocolate chips or chunks.

Scoop heaping tablespoons of the dough onto the prepared pans. Wet hands slightly (man does this make a difference) and roll the dough into balls. Space the cookies about 2 inches apart on the pans. Bake, until golden, but still soft in the center, 12-15 minutes, depending on how chewy or crunchy you like your cookies. Transfer hot cookies with a spatula to a rack to cool. Serve.

If you make them, let me know how they turned out! I have to literally keep Tony away from them or else five are gone in minutes!

Soapapilla Cheesecake...Last Recipe I Promise!

I hadn't realized how many new recipes I've tried in the past week until I went to post them on here. That's what I love about summer vacation, the time and energy to try out new recipes hoping to find great staples to add to our weekly rotation. This most definitely is one of those recipes!

A mom at our school brought this dessert to our team one day at lunch. It was DELICIOUS! Such a great take on classic cheesecake! I ate it and had it one other time at school, but never asked for the recipe. Last month I was surfing the food blogs and came across this one. I'm pretty sure it's the exact same recipe but I think the mom at school must have added red food coloring to the cream cheese mixture because that one was pink and this one is not. Oh well...it's still fabulous!

I originally got this recipe from My Sisters' Cucina and their picture is MUCH more appetizing than mine.

Soapapilla Cheesecake

Ingredients:

2 cans Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

2-8 oz cream cheese (room temperature)

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 stick butter (1/2 cup real butter, not margarine) <--I however, used margarine so HA!

Directions:

Spray a 9X13 casserole pan with cooking spray. Unroll and press 1 can crescent rolls into bottom of pan, pressing the seams together.

In a separate bowl, blend the cream cheese, 1 cup of sugar, and 1 tsp. vanilla. Spread over top of dough. Unroll the second can of crescent rolls and place on top of cream cheese mixture pressing seams together again. Melt butter and pour over top layer of crescents. Mix the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and cinnamon together. Sprinkle cinnamon mixture generously over top. Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly and bottom crust is slightly brown. Cool in fridge, slice, and enjoy!

Verdict: The tough one in our family in regards to recipes is Tony. He doesn't always like a change in the classics, but he's always willing to try something new. His reaction? I had to move the pan away from him! He LOVED it! Each time we ate it, he demanded he cut his own piece so he could make sure his slice was HUGE! It is delicious, creamy, and a great variation to the classic. I would take this dessert to a potluck or make it whenever we're having Mexican food that night. Let me know how you like it!

Skillet Cookies

This weekend I had a craving for skillet cookies. Tony's mother shared these with me when Tony and I were dating and at first I wasn't sold. I still don't know how I like them because almost every ingredient in these I don't care for. They are very good, very bad for you, and therefore that makes them very good!

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter (or margarine)

1 pkg. of dates chopped

2 cups Rice Krispies

1/2 cup of finely chopped pecans

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 cup of sugar

1 or 2 handfuls of coconut

Directions:

Melt Butter in skillet.

Beat eggs and sugar together then add to melted butter.

Add dates then cook for 10-15 minutes over medium-low heat.

Once consistency of picture shown is reached and you can divide mixture in half with spoon turn off heat and pour in vanilla. (It kind of looks like pecan pie filling at this point)

Combine cereal and coconut into bowl. Add date mixture and mix together.

Form into balls using ice cream scoop as mixture will be very hot.

Roll in pecans and place on wax paper to cool.

Enjoy!

P.S. Tony made me laugh so hard when his mom suggested he put on a full baker's outfit to make the cookies. Here he is: