Garlic Mashed Red Potatoes

When I googled Garlic Mashed Red Potatoes for a side to our Sunday dinner, I had no idea the heaven I would be in for when I whipped up these creamy, dreamy little things. They were the perfect addition to our BBQ Lime Chicken. Oh. My. Goodness! I was pretty sure Matt had died and gone to heaven between these two things of beauty on his plate. I couldn't wait to share the recipe with you!! I found them here and you can bet I'll be heading back there to see what else I can make from her website!

 (picture also found here)

You will need:
2 1/2 pounds baby red potatoes, unpeeled and cut into cubes

1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1 14 ounce container chicken stock

**Pour 3/4 container of chicken stock into a large stove top pan.  Place cubed potatoes in pan and turn on high heat.  Boil potatoes for 15-20 minutes until potatoes are soft.

(I actually used all of it and ended up adding a bit of water before the potatoes were all the way done because the broth had boiled off and I didn't need additional stock, the sour cream made them creamy enough!)
**Drain potatoes.  Add reduced-fat sour cream, garlic, salt, and pepper to potatoes.  

**Using a stand-up mixer or potato masher, mix potatoes.  Slowly add remaining chicken stock to potatoes and continuing mashing until desired consistency. 

BBQ Lime Chicken

you. guys.

i found this recipe last week, and i couldn't wait to try it. it came from this blog and oh my gosh. it was to die for.

to. die. for.

you know you've done it when your husband (who is very mellow about ev-e-ry food and describes everything as 'okay.') says, "babe. baaaaaaaabe" between every single bite. 

trust me. try it tonight!

another bonus is that the ingredients are things you probably already have in your pantry. the sweetness of the honey, the salty of the soy sauce, and the zestiness of the lime are the perfect, mouth-watering combination.

you need:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (you can do whole breasts or kabobs. we did whole) (also, i had plenty of marinade. you could easily do 4 breasts)

3 tbsp. soy sauce

2 tbsp. honey

1 tbsp. vegetable oil

juice of 1 lime

1 tsp. minced garlic

mix together, and marinate chicken for 3+ hours. bbq on medium-high until white throughout. salivate, eat, die, repeat.

ready...go!

Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake

I had to make a dessert for a church function, and after hearing about this deliciousness a while back, I decided this would be my cake of choice! If you are a Snickerdoodle cookie fan, you will be in heaven with this scrumptious little cake!  It takes a lot of mixing so if you have a Kitchenaid stand mixer, I highly recommend using it!!

I got this little recipe from Jamie Cooks it Up and if you haven't visited her blog, you totally should. She has tons of delicious recipes that are very family friendly!

 (We all know I am not the best food photographer, especially when my phone is my camera of choice! :D)

You will need:

2 t ground cinnamon

1 C white sugar

**Mix together and set aside--you'll need this two different times. 

Next you will need:

2 1/2 C. flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 C. butter, softened

1 C. sugar

1 C. brown sugar

3 eggs at room temperature

2 tsp. vanilla

1 C sour cream at room temperature 

Directions:

**Grease the inside of your bundt pan with shortening, or spray heavily with Pam Cooking Spray With Added Flour and dust the entire inside of your pan with the cinnamon sugar mixture. You will probably use about 1/3 C. of the mixture. Set aside the leftovers to use in the middle of the cake.

**In a mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 

Set this mixture aside for later.

**In a Kitchen Aid mixer or using hand held beaters beat the softened butter on medium speed for 1 minute.

**Add the white sugar and mix for 3 minutes.

**Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and add the brown sugar. Mix for 2 minutes.

**Add the eggs one at a time, mixing for a full minute after each one.

**Stir in the vanilla.

**Grab your dry mixture and add it alternately with the sour cream. When both sour cream and all of the dry mixture are added continue to mix for 2 minutes.

**Spread 1/2 the batter into your pan. Pour the leftover cinnamon and sugar over the top. Spread the rest of your batter over the top.

**Bake at 325 degrees for 55-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

**Cool for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Cake

A big thanks to my friend Amy and Pinterest for this little bit of heaven! I had to make a cake for refreshments at school on the day we were meeting our new principal. Lucky, Ame had just told me about this little beauty so I was just looking for a reason to make it. Of course, it didn't disappoint. I'm pretty darn sure you'll love it too!

 (picture from here)

You will need for the cake:

1 box of Devil's Food Cake Mix

1 box of instant chocolate pudding (4 oz.)

3/4 C. hot water

3/4 C. vegetable oil

1 tsp. vanilla

4 eggs

For the Filling you will need:

1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese (softened

1/2 C. sugar
1 egg

 1 C. chocolate chips

For the frosting:

Your favorite chocolate frosting

(I happen to LOVE Betty Crocker's chocolate frosting so I used that. :D)

1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Spray bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with baking spray with flour.
2. In large bowl, beat cake ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan.
3. In large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and 1 egg with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon filling by tablespoonfuls evenly over top of batter. Using table knife, swirl filling through batter. Sprinkle with nuts.
4. Bake 47 to 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Spread frosting over cake. Store covered in refrigerator.

Makes 15 servings