Homemade Tortillas

Homemade Flour Tortillas

recipe courtesy Raley's "Something Extra" Magazine

Ingredients

2 cups flour

3 tbsp shortening

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup water

Directions

Mix together flour, shortening, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl with a fork until mixture resembles course crumbs; stir in water. Place on a lightly floured surface and knead several times to form a smooth dough.

Cover with a cloth and let stand for 30 minutes. Divide dough into 12 equal parts. Roll each into a 7 inch circle.

Cook each tortilla in a skillet over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes on each side or until lightly browned and puffed.

I know the picture doesn't look like much, but these tortillas did prompt my very picky daughter to tell me that I make the best tortillas ever. They were very yummy!

Cassy

Blackberry Cake with Raspberry Frosting

Blackberry Cupcakes with Raspberry Frosting

(source unknown)

My husband had this cake at work once and quickly brought the recipe home so that he could have it again :)

Ingredients

White cake mix

1 3oz package raspberry gelatin

1 10oz package frozen blackberries (thawed)

4 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup hot water

1 12oz container cool whip (thawed)

1 10oz package frozen raspberries (thawed and sweetened)

Directions

In a large bowl combine cake mix and gelatin powder. Add blackberries with juice, eggs, oil and water. Beat until well blended. Pour into greased 13x9" pan and bake for 35-40 minutes and 350. When I made the cupcakes I baked 12 at a time and they took about 18 minutes.

For the frosting fold raspberries into the cool whip lightly smashing the berries to release the juices. Spread over cooled cake and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Note: This really gets better the longer you let it sit. We love it best the next day :)

Cassy

Chocolate Orange Cheesecake

Chocolate Orange Cheesecake

from Giada De Laurentis

What you need:

1/3 cup finely crushed chocolate wafers ( I used oreos minus the cream filling)

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1/4 cup ricotta cheese

2 ounces cream cheese

1/4 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons

1 orange, zested

1 egg

Butter, for greasing

What you do:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the crushed chocolate wafers and the melted butter. Place a tightly packed teaspoon of the wafer mixture into each mini-muffin cup and press down firmly.

In a food processor combine the ricotta cheese, cream cheese, 1/4 cup of the sugar, half of the orange zest, and the egg. Blend until smooth. Lightly grease the sides of the mini muffin tin with butter. Fill the cups with about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the cheesecake mixture (it says 1 1/2 tbls, but this doesn't make enough for that. I did about a tablespoon). Place the mini muffin tin in a cookie sheet and pour enough hot water in the bottom to come halfway up the sides of the mini muffin tin. Bake for 25 minutes. Transfer the mini muffin tin to a wire rack and let cool for 30 minutes. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Use a small knife to gently pop the cheesecakes out of the cups.

Just before serving, combine the remaining orange zest with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Top each individual cheesecake with about 1/4 teaspoon of the orange zest mixture and serve.

These are so yummy! Can't wait to make them again!

Cassy

Simple white cake

Simple White Cake

From all recipes 

Makes 12 cupcakes or 1 9" round cake

Ingredients:

1 cup white sugar 1/2 cup butter 2 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 cup milk

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x9 inch pan or line a muffin pan with paper liners.
2.	In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Finally stir in the milk until batter is smooth. Pour or spoon batter into the prepared pan.
3.	Bake for 30 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven. For cupcakes, bake 20 to 25 minutes. Cake is done when it springs back to the touch.

Bacon Ranch Slowcooker Chicken

 ***This took literally 5 minutes to prep-I even threw my chicken in frozen and it worked perfectly! We all loved the taste and it was so easy to make! Definitely going in the rotation!***


Bacon Ranch Slowcooker Chicken
source

4 Servings

2 butterball turkey bacon strips, cooked and shredded
1 tsp minced garlic
1 package ranch dressing mix
1 10.75 oz can condensed cream of chicken soup (98% fat free)
1 cup fat-free sour cream
16 oz. chicken breasts
8 oz. pasta (I used rigatoni)

Combine the first five ingredients. Place chicken in slowcooker and pour sauce over the top. Cook on high for 3.5 hours. Serve over hot noodles.

peanut butter cup cheesecake bars

***So pretty much this cheesecake rocked everyone's world. My family was practically swooning over in delight. It's rich, decadent, and if you like the PB and chocolate combo, it's to die for! Rory told me to never make another kind of cheesecake ever again. I'll see if I can change his mind with some Oreo cheesecake... yum!***


Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake Bars
via The Sweets Life

Ingredients:
Crust-
-7 whole graham crackers, broken into small pieces
-6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted & cooled
-3 tbsp brown sugar
-2 tbsp all-purpose flour
-1/8 tsp salt

Filling-
-2 packages cream cheese, softened
-2/3 cup granulated sugar
-2 eggs
-1/4 cup sour cream
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1 bag mini Reese's peanut butter cups, chopped

-2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325F. Line an 8-in pan with aluminum foil, leaving a 3-4 inch overhang on each side. Grease foil.
2. Make graham cracker crust by adding crackers to food processor and pulsing until fine. Add butter, brown sugar, flour, and salt. Pulse until mixture is combined. Press into the bottom of the baking dish.
3. Bake crust for 12-15 minutes until browning. Cool for at least 30 minutes.
4. In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Slowly add sugar, beating well. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in sour cream and vanilla extract until fully combined.
5. After chopping Reese's peanut butter cups, set aside approximately 1/2 cup for later. Stir the remaining chopped candies into the cream cheese batter.
6. Pour batter into baking pan, spreading evenly over crust. Bake at 325F for 35-40 minutes (rotate halfway through), until the edges are set and middle still jiggles slightly.
7. Cool cheesecake for 2 hours. Cover and refrigerate 3-24 hours.
8. Remove from fridge and using the foil overhang, remove bars from pan. Cut into small squares. Melt bittersweet chocolate in the microwave (stirring every 15 seconds). Drizzle chocolate over bars and top with remaining chopped Reese's cups.