Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

I found this recipe over at doughmesstic and this turned out to be one of my favourite things I made for the bake sale.


Vanilla cupcakes
3 cups cake flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 Vanilla Bean, scraped
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
5 large eggs
1¼ c. buttermilk
2 teaspoons Vanilla
2 teaspoons bourbon
strawberry jam
fresh strawberries

Cream cheese frosting
4 ounces unsalted butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Crumb topping
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 cup of graham cracker crumbs

To make the vanilla cupcakes, combine the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together and set aside.

Put the butter, sugar and vanilla bean in the bowl of an electric mixer, and beat until fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time, mix in bourbon and vanilla, With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.

Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 18 to 22 minutes.

To make the cream cheese frosting beat together the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer. With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar a cup at a time until smooth and creamy. Beat in the vanilla extract.

To make the crumb topping, melt the butter, mix in the sugar and graham cracker crumbs.

To assemble cupcakes, using the cone removal method, add some strawberry jam to the inside of the cooled cupcakes. Top with the cream cheese frosting and sprinkle the crumb topping around the edge of the frosting, cut fresh strawberries in half and place ontop.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

The company Randal works at holds a United Way bakesale every year, and as soon as Randal told me about it I started searching through all my favourite food blogs for things I could make. One of the first things I found were these pumpkin snickerdoodles at annies eats



3¾ cups all-purpose flour
1½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
¾ cup pumpkin puree
1 large egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract

For the coating:
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground ginger
Dash of allspice

Preheat the oven to 350

In a bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg, set aside.

With an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugars until fluffy, beat in the egg, vanilla and pumpkin puree.

With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients. Cover and chill the dough for 1 hour.

Combine the coating ingredients in a bowl, roll the dough into balls and roll in the coating mixture, place on baking sheet 2 inches apart and flatten slightly.

Bake for 10-12 minutes and cool on a wire rack.

Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole

This is quick and easy and just something more interesting than regular mashed potatoes.



3 lbs potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
1/2 cup cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
8 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
1/2 bunch spring onions, sliced

Place potatoes in saucepan, and cover with salted water. Bring to a boil over med-high heat. Cook until tender, then drain well.

Preheat oven to 375° degrees.

Transfer potatoes back to the saucepan. Mash until almost smooth. Add cream cheese, sour cream, butter, milk, salt and pepper. Stir in 1 cup of the cheese and the bacon. Spoon mixture evenly into a lightly oiled casserole dish.

Bake for 20 minutes. Top with remaining cheese and green onions. Bake for 5 more minutes to melt cheese. Serve immediately.

Chicken and Dumplings Casserole

Another recipe I found on pinterest! I haven't had much luck with making traditional chicken and dumplings, and even though I was not sure about this recipe, I am really glad I decided to try it. Randal and I both really enjoyed this.


3 chicken breasts
2 cups chicken broth
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup self rising flour
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter

Bring the chicken broth to a boil, add chicken breasts and simmer for 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

Remove chicken from broth and leave to cool. Strain the chicken broth.

Pre heat the oven to 400 degrees. Melt the butter and pour into the bottom of a 9x13baking dish, shred chicken and place ontop of the butter. Whisk the milk and flour and carefully pour over the chicken. Mix the chicken soup into the reserved chicken broth and pour over the milk and flour mixture. Bake for 45 minutes.

Cheesy Corn Bites

Yet another recipe from pinterest. I changed it slightly by adding a diced jalapeno because I thought they might be too bland for Randal otherwise.


8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup shredded pepperjack cheese
1 large egg
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
1 jalapeno, diced
48 scoop-shaped tortilla chips

Preheat the oven to 350F. Set the chips out on a baking sheet.

In a bowl, combine the cream cheese, cheese, egg and corn, jalapeno and mix completely. Place 1 teaspoon of the mixture into each corn chip. Bake until the filling sets, about 20 minutes.

Potato Bake

Another recipe from Pinterest. I was looking for some new side ideas and this one seemed perfect as Randal loves peppers and onions and I had everything I needed to make it. We both liked this and would definitely make it again.


Roasted fingerling potatoes
2 tomatoes
1/2 green bell pepper
1/2 red bell pepper
1 small onion
shredded cheddar cheese
2 spring onions
sour cream
salt and pepper

Roast potatoes for 30 - 40 minutes, until tender
While potatoes are baking, saute the onion, peppers and tomato until soft
Add the roasted potatoes to the softened vegetables and mix together
Place mixture in a baking dish, cover with cheese and bake for 10 minutes, until cheese is melted

Mexican Stuffed Shells

I found this recipe on Pinterest and as soon as I saw it I knew that Randal would love it, and he did! The only mistake I made was using hot taco seasoning in this, next time I'll use mild, as this ended up being too spicy for me to really enjoy, but it was perfect for Randal!


1 lb. ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning
4 oz. cream cheese
16 jumbo pasta shells
1.5 cups salsa
1 cup enchilada sauce
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 cup monterey jack cheese
3 spring onions
Sour cream

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a frying pan cook ground beef; add taco seasoning and prepare according to package directions. Add cream cheese, cover and simmer until cheese is melted. Blend well. Set aside and cool completely. While ground beef is cooking, cook the pasta shells according to directions; drain. Set shells out individually on cutting board/baking sheet so that they don’t stick together.

Pour salsa on bottom of baking dish. Stuff each shell with the meat mixture. Place shells in 9×13 pan open side up. Cover shells with enchilada sauce. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, add shredded cheese and bake for 10-15 more minutes, with the foil removed.