Pumpkin Chocolate Chip “Cake” Muffins

As you all know, I am a big fan of using cake mix in baked goods, mostly because it saves time, money, and energy (I'll be the first to admit I'm a lazy baker).

So, when Thanksgiving rolled around and S and I had two family dinners to attend, I knew I wanted to contribute something festive, but that wouldn't take a lot of effort.

Yellow cake mix and canned pumpkin to the rescue!

Here's what I came up with...

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip “Cake” Muffins

1 box yellow cake mix (I used Pillsbury)

1 15 ounce canned pumpkin (I used Libby’s)

½ cup water

¼ cup vegetable oil

½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 whole egg

2 12-cupcake pans

Mix all ingredients in large bowl. Stir until batter is mixed completely with no lumps.

Line cupcake pan with liners or spray generously with cooking spray. Fill each about halfway.

Bake at 350* for ~20 minutes or until tops are golden.

Yields approx. 20 tasty cupcakes!

These would also be yummy with cream cheese icing.

Enjoy! And I promise that's the last of the pumpkin recipes you will see on this blog...until my next craving hits! ;-)

White Wine Lemonade Sangria

White Wine Lemonade Sangria

So, I had my birthday party on Friday night, and I made this sangria "punch"...it was such a hit that I had to rustle up a second batch mid-party! 

It was too good not to share with you:

Ingredients:

-1 bottle white wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc)

-1/2 liter lemon-lime soda (I used Sprite)

-1/4 cup lemon juice (I estimated)

-1 cup light rum (again, I eyeballed this one...I used Bacardi)

-1 cup water

-2 whole lemons, sliced

-1 cup strawberries, sliced into chunks

-Any other fruit you desire would work well!

Instructions:

-Mix all ingredients into a large jug and stir well. 

-Let sit in fridge for at least 4 hours before serving.

-Pour into tall glasses and enjoy!

BBQ Beer Chicken Chili

Here's a perfect easy-peasy weekend crock-pot recipe that tastes yummy, takes 5 minutes to prep, and makes the house smell amazing! Plus, it's moderately healthy and a hit

with men since it's got beer and a spicy kick ;-)

BBQ Beer Chicken Chili

(yields: 4-6 servings)

What You'll Need:

-2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

-1 16oz can dark red kidney beans

-1 16oz can black beans

-1 small can yellow corn with red and green peppers

-1 cup BBQ sauce & 1 can beer (or, if you're lazy like me, you can buy a pre-made BBQ beer sauce like this one)

-desired amount of hot sauce/tobasco (I used about 2 tablespoons--we like it hot!)

-Old Bay seasoning (I'm from Baltimore so I add this to practically every recipe)

-red pepper flakes

-salt and pepper to taste

-rice (optional--we served ours mixed with rice for some staying power, but this chili is perfectly delicious on its own, too!)

Instructions:

1. Dice chicken breasts into cubes. Season with red pepper flakes and Old Bay. Brown chicken in frying pan on medium-high heat until cooked through.

2. Add kidney beans, black beans, corn, and BBQ/beer sauce to crock pot.

3. Add browned, diced chicken.

4. Stir to thoroughly mix all ingredients.

5. Add desired amount of hot sauce and more Old Bay, red pepper flakes, and salt & pepper, if desired.

6. Stir all ingredients.

7. Set crock-pot/slow-cooker to low heat.

8. Cook for 6-8 hours on low (or 4-5 hours on high).

9. Ladle into bowls, add rice if desired, serve, and enjoy!

That's it! It's so simple, and so very delicious.

Easy Cake Mix Cookies

As promised, I am trying to blog more often, and I couldn't not share this easy peasy recipe I used for cookies. Now I have something tasty to bring to tomorrow's office Holiday Party, and I barely broke a sweat in the kitchen. Plus, the recipe calls for only 3 ingredients, so I spent about $5 total on the whole batch.

Enjoy!

*********

Easy Cake Mix Cookies

(makes approx. 30)

Ingredients:

1. 1 box white cake mix (I used Pillsbury because it was 79 cents on sale!)

2. 1/2 cup vegetable oil

3. 2 whole large eggs

4. Ungreased cookie sheet

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Mix cake batter, eggs, and oil in a large bowl. (I added a splash of water to the mix because it was a little too gooey and needed to be softened up a bit)

3. Using your fingers, shape into generous globs and place an inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake at 350 for 5-10 minutes (you should watch them closely to make sure they don't burn).

They are finished when they are lightly browned around the edges.

5. Cool for at least 10 minutes.

6. Give to boyfriend to taste test.

7. Eat and Enjoy!

(*Note: My cookies look a little more brown in color than the typical recipe calls for because I made brownie batter in the same bowl and decided to just mix the extra residue into my cookie mix...lazy, but delicious! A win--win)

Coco's Cinnamon Applesauce Muffins

Here's a view of my backyard after the recent snowstorm a few days back:

Pretty, huh?

And as promised, here's a delightful muffin recipe. I adapted it from a few recipes online, using the ingredients I had in my kitchen.

Coco’s Cinnamon Applesauce Muffins

Ingredients:

· 1 ½ cups flour

· ¾ c sugar

· 1 ½ tsp baking powder

· generous sprinkle of ground cinnamon

· ½ c lactose-free milk

· 1/3 c canola oil

· 1 egg

· ½ c applesauce

· 1 handful chopped walnuts

Instructions:

· Pre-heat oven to 375

· Combine all ingredients in large bowl, stirring until moistened

· Spoon batter into muffin liners

· Bake for 20 minutes

· Makes 1 dozen muffins

Perfect for breakfast, or anytime a muffin craving might hit J

*Congratulations again to Molly, the winner of my giveaway! And thanks to all who entered. :-)