French Onion Chicken and Potatoes

(This photo seriously doesn't convey the deliciousness of this dish!)

I recently won a contest and received a cookbooklet as part of a "prize pack".  This recipe came from that booklet and it is AMAZING- definitely a 5 stars out of 5 on my scale and super easy!! 

SIDENOTE: The original recipe called for the dish to be prepared in the microwave, but I opted to cook it in the oven (flavors always seem to meld better that way for me and it was definitely true here.  I also made the recipe yield more and omited canned fried onions on the top to make it a little healthier)

INGREDIENTS:

- 5 medium sized russet or white potatoes
- 5-6 thinly sliced chicken breasts (or 8-10 chicken tenders)
- 2 packets dry onion soup mix
- 2 C. warm water
-5 Slices Swiss Cheese


DIRECTIONS:

1.) Rinse Potatoes, cut them in half lengthwise; slice the halved in half lengthwise again. On a seperate cutting board cut chicken in to strips (skip this step if you chose to use chicken tenders).
2.) In a small mixing bowl combine soup mixes with 2 cups warm water and stir until powder dissolves. 
3.) Pour dissolved soup into a 13 x 9 in dish.  Spread chicken in one layer across bottom of pan.  Top chicken with potatoes, arranging them ina second single layer.
4.) Cover with foil and cook for 15 minutes.  Remove foil and return to oven for an additional 15 minutes.
5.) Remove from oven once more and top with swiss cheese slices, in yet another single layer.  Cook for 10 more minutes or until cheese is completely melted and/or bubbly.
6.) Enjoy!

Chocolate Marble Cupcakes

These cupcakes pair Rich chocolate with fluffy cream cheese- trust me,

 it is hard to eat only one!  ;-)

INGREDIENTS:


- 6 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 C. Sugar
- 1 Egg
- 6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 Box Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix (With pudding in the mix)
- Water, Eggs and vegetable oil called for in cake mix (depends on the bramd and specific flavor)


DIRECTIONS:


1.) Heat oven to 350'.  In a medium mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, 1/3 C. Sugar and 1 Egg with electric mixer until smooth.  Add Chocolate Chips and set mixture aside.
2.) Prepare cake mix according to box.  Divide batter evenly (I use a 1/4 c. scoop) among 18 lined muffin cups.  Top each with 1 Tbsp. cream cheese mixture.
3.) Using a knife or toothpick, lightly "criss-cross" the batters creating a "marble" effect.
4.) Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
5.) Enjoy!

Texas Confetti Cornbread

Ready for a melt in your mouth "down south" Texas recipe?  Look no further...This cornbread was SOOOO delicious.  Cornbread gone wrong is dry and flavorless- this one is packed full of spice and fell apart as I picked it up- Yum!


INGREDIENTS:

- 1 C. Milk
-1/4 C. Butter, melted
- 1 Large Egg
- 1 1/4 C. Yellow or White Cornmeal
- 1 C. Flour
- 1/2 C. Sugar
- 1 Tbsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 3/4 C. Frozen or Fresh corn
- 1/2 of a Green Bell Pepper, chopped
- 1-2 Fresh Jalapenos, chopped (according to how spicy you want it!  Omit the pepper for less spice or chop up 2 for full spice)


DIRECTIONS:

1.) Heat oven to 400'.  Grease or spray bottom and side of round (9 x 1 1/2 in) or square (8 x8 x 2 in) pan.
2.) Beat milk, butter and egg in a large bowl with large wire whisk.  Stir in the next 5 ingredients until moistened (Do NOT overbeat this mixture- it should be slightly lumpy).
3.) Steam together corn and peppers (for a quick shortcut, use a "steamer bag" in the microwave as you mix the other ingredients).
4.) Add corn and peppers to batter and stir lightly.
5.) Pour into pan and bake for 20-30 minutes or until  the top becomes golden brown (or a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
6.) Enjoy!

*I paired this new cornbread concotion of mine with some homemade red and pinto beans with sausage!  It was soooo delicious!

Mom's Potatoes Au Gratin

*I recently won a contest with this recipe and it was featured in their blog:

 http://www.momsdinnerhelper.com/. Check it out!

INGREDIENTS:
- 6-7 Russet Potatoes, peeled and cubed

- 2 Tbsp. Butter

- 2 Tbsp. Flour

- 1 1/4 C. Milk

- 1/2 tsp. salt, divided

- 1/8 tsp. black ground pepper

- 1 C. Sharp Cheddar Cheese


DIRECTIONS:

1.) Boil potatoes in water with 1/4th tsp. salt until potatoes are fork-tender. Drain well.

2.) Melt Butter in Medium Saucepan and add flour, blending well into a paste.

3.) Add 1 1/4 C. Milk and stir continually until white sauce begins to thicken. Bring to a boil then reduce heat. Continue stirring until white sauce is thickened. Add remaining salt and pepper.

4.) Place potatoes in a lightly greased 13 x 9 in. baking dish. Pour White sauce over potatoes. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Remove potatoes, stir lightly and top with cup of cheddar cheese.

5.) Return to oven for an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly!

6.) Enjoy!

*This was one of my favorite dishes growing up that my mom made- which is saying a lot because she is an amazing cook! I have always been a "potato girl", so I often begged my mom to make them, lol. Now that I'm married and out of the house, I have to make a batch whenever I get that craving!

Vanilla Bean Mousse Cheesecake

(Pictured before the fruit was added)

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 1/4 Graham Cracker Crumbs
- 3 Tbsp. Sugar
- 1/3 C. Butter, Melted
- 4 Pkgs. (8 oz each) Cream Cheese, Softened, Divided
- 1 C. Sugar, Divided
- 1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. Vanilla ext., Divided
- 3 Eggs
- 1 Tub (8 oz) Cool Whip, thawed
- Garnish: 1 Vanilla Bean Ghirardelli Bar
- Garnish: Fruit for topping


DIRECTIONS:

1.) Heat oven to 325'.
2.) Mix graham cracker crumbs and sugar.  Add melted butter; Press onto bottom of 9-inch Springform Pan.
3.) Beat 3 pkgs cream cheese, 3/4 C. Sugar and 1 Tbsp vanilla ext with mixer until well blended.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each until just blended.  Pour over crust.
4.) Bake 45-50 minutes on until center is almost set.  Remove and cool for 10 minutes on wire rack.  Run a knife around rim of pan.  Cool cheesecake completely in pan.
5.) Beat remaining cream cheese, sugar and vanilla ext. with mixer in a large bowl until well blended.  Whisk in Cool Whip; spread over cheesecake.  Refrigerate 4 hours.  Remove rim of pan before serving cheesecake. 
6.) Garnish with rectangles of vanilla bean bar (half squares) and fresh fruit (I used a mixture of sliced strawberries, peaches and bananas)
7.) Enjoy!

Walnut Lover's Fudge Brownies

INGREDIENTS:

"Topping"

- 3/4 C. Packed Brown Sugar
- 1/4 C. Butter
- 2 Tbsp. Flour
- 1 tsp. Vanilla
- 1 Egg
- 3 C. Chopped Walnuts

"Brownies"

- 3/4 C. Butter
- 4 oz. (4 squares-1 oz each) unsweetened chocolate
- 2 C. Sugar
- 1 C. Flour
-1 tsp. Vanilla ext.
- 4 Eggs


DIRECTIONS:

1.) Heat oven to 350'.  Grease and Flour bottom and sides of 13 x 9 inch pan.  In a medium saucepan, heat brown sugar and 1/4 C. butter over low heat, stirring occassionally until butter is melted; cool slightly. 
2.) Stir in 2 Tbsp. flour, 1 tsp. vanilla and 1 egg until blended.  Stir in walnuts; set aside.
3.) In a large saucepan, melt 3/4 C. Butter and the chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly.  Cool slightly.  Stir in sugar, 1 C. Flour, 1 tsp. vanilla ext. and 4 Eggs.  In pan, spread batter evenly. 
4.) Spoon walnut topping over batter, evenly.
5.) Bake 3045 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Cool completely in pan on cooling rack.
6.) Enjoy!

Welcome to Treats -n- Eats!

I am really excited about the amount of interest people have shown in my recipes through messages, e-mails and facebook!  I hope that this blog will help everyone find them in one place. 


For everyone who has been asking about my older recipes or ones that I  have posted elsewhere, check out my BAKESPACE profile, which is where I posted them in the past: http://www.bakespace.com/my-kitchen/my-recipes/date/

IF you know of another recipe that I make that you can't find there, let me know and I will re-post it on the blog!


I hope that everyone enjoys what I post...For now, Happy Cooking!  I plan on posting my first two recipes later on today!