White Chocolate Funfetti Cake Mix Cookies

Looking in my cupboard for something to satisfy my sweet tooth, I saw a Valentine's Day cake mix. Since the holiday has come and gone and I clearly didn't put the cake mix to use as cupcakes or a cake, I decided to find a different recipe to utilize the mix. I did a little looking around and found this delicious twist on the usual use for cake mixes.

What you will need:
1 (16.5 oz.) box white or funfetti cake mix
1 (3.3 oz.) box white chocolate instant pudding mix
1/2 C vegetable oil
1/2 C white chocolate chips
4 T sprinkles (optional if using funfetti cake mix)

*Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

To begin, mix your cake mix and pudding mix and add in the vegetable oil and eggs.

Once combined, stir in the white chocolate chips and sprinkles.

Roll dough into balls the size of a golfball and place on cookie sheet about 1 inch apart.

Bake in your preheated oven for 9-11 minutes.

Once you remove the pan from the oven, let sit for 1 minute and place cookies on newspaper to cool.

Makes 25-30 Cookies

Tip:

1/2 C vegetable oil is a lot! Instead, use 1/4 C vegetable oil and 1/4 C applesauce. You won't be able to tell the difference and it is much healthier. Well, as healthy as cookies can get ;).

Cheesy Chicken Tortilla Soup

With how cold and snowy it's been in northern Iowa the past week, making a crock pot of Cheesy Chicken Tortilla Soup really hit the spot. It's one of the easiest things to make, you literally just dump everything in the slow cooker and can even put it together the night before! The recipe is as follows:

2 C cooked, shredded chicken (canned chicken works well too)

2 - 10 oz. cans Old El Paso brand Enchilada sauce

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cheddar cheese soup

1 can black beans, rinsed

1 can Ro*tel diced tomatoes and green chiles

1 packet taco seasoning

2 C milk

1 C cheddar or mexican cheese

1/4 C onion

1 C rice (white, brown, or mexican)

*For garnishing:

Tortilla chips

Shredded cheddar cheese

Sour cream

Spray your slow cooker and add all ingredients. Heat on low for 4-6 hours, stirring every couple of hours. Enjoy once the soup is heated through.

Makes 4 - 6 servings

*I will warn you this soup has a little bite to it, but that's coming from me, and I am a whimp when it comes to spicy foods. It's an easy fix though, I promise! Just omit, or use a mild flavor of your Ro*tel diced tomatoes and green chiles.

Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza

If you've had "chicken, bacon, ranch" anything, I think most of you will agree that it is a wonderful combination. Chicken, bacon, ranch pizza? Might be the best way to have the trio. This past week I made this pizza and even added a few sautéed mushrooms - which I didn't regret!

The recipe is as follows:

1 can Pillsbury pizza dough (or your favorite recipe)

1 C Ranch

1/2 lb. Bacon

2 large chicken breasts

1 T vegetable oil

Shredded mozzarella cheese

2 C raw mushrooms

1/3 C butter

1-1/2 t garlic powder

S & P to taste

To begin, preheat your oven to 375 degrees and cook up your meats and mushrooms.

Cut your chicken breast into bite-sized pieces and cook in the vegetable oil.

Crisp up your bacon in a frying pan. When it is fully cooked, place on a plate lined with paper towels to drain excess fat. Then, cut into bite-sized pieces for the pizza.

Melt the butter and add in the mushrooms. Once coated, sprinkle in the garlic powder, salt & pepper. Cook these about 15 minutes, or until they are as tender as you prefer.

While the meats and mushrooms are finishing up, roll out your pizza dough onto a non-stick or sprayed baking sheet and bake for 4-5 minutes to keep your dough from getting soggy when you add all the ingredients on top. Don't cook the dough too long, just enough to give it a head start!

(Tip: I have always poked my pizza dough with a fork all over to prevent the crust from bubbling up)

Once the dough is done pre-baking and the meats and mushrooms are ready, spread however much ranch you'd like on the crust. I put 1 cup in the ingredients, but this is your "pizza sauce", so if you usually like it saucy then load it up! Otherwise, maybe use a little less - you can always drizzle extra ranch over it at the end.

Continue with the chicken, bacon and mushrooms. Finish it off with a sprinkling of mozzarella or your favorite pizza cheese.

Now it's ready for the oven! Bake the pizza on the middle oven rack for 20 - 25 minutes or until the cheese begins browning. Everything you put on it is cooked, so just keep an eye on it for however well-done you prefer your crust.

(If you notice the cheese is ready and beginning to brown, but the crust is still a bit soft, move your oven rack to the bottom and put the pizza down lower. This will concentrate more of the heat on the crust, and give the cheese a little break. Make sure to check it often so it doesn't burn!

...and voilà! Your chicken, bacon, ranch pizza is ready to eat!

Homemade Banana Muffins

I rarely ever eat bananas, but when I do decide to buy them while getting groceries, I am notorious for letting them get far too mushy to eat. However, I never throw them away. Banana muffins or bread is far too good to pass up! This weekend I realized my bananas were looking very brown so I decided to make homemade muffins for breakfast, of course.

Here are the ingredients you will need:

The recipe is as follows:

1-1/2 C all-purpose flour

1 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

3 large bananas, mashed

3/4 C white sugar

1/3 C butter, melted

2 T vegetable oil

-Preheat your oven to 350 degrees & put liners in your muffin tin

-Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda & salt; set aside

-Combine bananas, sugar, egg, oil & melted butter in a large bowl

-Fold in flour mixture & mix until smooth **Be sure to not over-mix!

-Scoop into muffin tins & bake for 20-25 minutes

For a little added flavor, I also decided to add in these two ingredients:

1 t vanilla

1/2 t ground cinnamon

...and viola! Yummy homemade banana muffins in only about 35 minutes!

This recipe makes approximately 9 muffins.

A couple of added tips...

• You could easily make this recipe in a loaf or bundt pan, it would just take a little longer to bake so keep an eye on it!
• Adding 1/2 - 3/4 C of chocolate chips would be a great addition of flavor
• Many people enjoy banana nut muffins - just throw in 1 C chopped walnuts either toasted or raw

A Little About Me...

Hello and welcome to my blog!

I want to start off with telling you a little about me and the direction I hope to take my blog posts, so I'll keep it short and sweet! My name is McKayla and I am a senior marketing major with a sales emphasis at the University of Northern Iowa. My blog is going to focus on my own personal experiences with cooking while living away from home on a college budget. I'll share recipes of food that I have made, along with photos and tips!

Ever since I was little I have always loved learning from and cooking with my mom and sisters, and now that I am on my own at college I haven't lost my passion for cooking. More often than not, I am making dinner with my roommates and/or boyfriend throughout the week. If you looked through my Pinterest page you might guess I was a culinary arts major, as my pins are mainly food-related. I'm obsessed and not afraid to admit it. I love finding new recipes and putting a different twist on them every so often. Throughout my posts this semester I hope you love the recipes I share just as much as I do!

Enjoy!