Lovin' From the Oven

Simply Chocolate Cupcakes

by Leave a Comment

fullsizeoutput_3eea

Can I tell you how much better the holidays are when you have kids? Or in my case, a kid? I’m SO excited to dress Ellie up for her first Halloween, eat tons of food for her first Thanksgiving, and wrap presents to leave under the tree for her first Christmas! I know she’s not even one yet so she won’t remember any of these events, but I’m going to go all out anyway.

Let’s start with Halloween. I bought Ellie her costume before she was born (hellooooo 80% off-after-Halloween-sale! How could I resist?). She’s a little too young to help me in the kitchen right now, but I’m counting down the days until she can wear a mini apron and stand beside me watching cupcakes rise through the oven glass door. img_5053
img_5064

When that day comes, I’ll have Pillsbury’s Purely Simple mixes to help me out. With a toddler on hand, it’ll be difficult to bake things truly from scratch. I’ll need a little help to get me started and that’s where these mixes come in. It makes everything a little homemade, while giving me more time to spend with family.

Plus, there is so much you can do with these mixes! I love using them in the kitchen. For these simply chocolate cupcakes, I doctored up the normal recipe by adding a couple of my finishing touches. From there, I used Halloween candy to dress up the tops.

Kids will love choosing their favorite Halloween candy to put on top of their very own dessert. Cupcakes are the perfect size for tiny hands to hold and devour. I played it safe with chocolate and peanut butter based candies, but you can be adventurous with taffy, gummies, or even hard candies.
fullsizeoutput_3eeb

I like using Pillsbury’s Purely Simple mixes because they’re free of preservatives and they don’t use any bleached flour. It’s easy to make them at home and it tastes like every ingredient was thoughtfully mixed in, one by one. img_5117

You can always use the recipe on the back of the box, but if you have a little extra time, you can use this recipe to make it even more personal.
fullsizeoutput_3ee9

I made the buttercream exactly as listed on the package. Believe it or not, you only need to add butter and water to the mix. That’s it! Just two ingredients that are almost always readily available in your refrigerator.img_5135 img_5146 fullsizeoutput_3ee7

The result is this deliciously moist, fluffy, and tasteful cupcake. It took me less than half an hour total to make these cupcakes. Yes, that even includes the baking time! That’s faster than doing a load of laundry, going grocery shopping, or running the dishwasher.

Use up that leftover Halloween candy and turn it into gold!

Print
Simply Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients

  • 1 package Pillsbury Purely Simple Chocolate Cake Mix
  • 1 package (3.9 oz) instant chocolate pudding mix
  • 2 tbsp dark cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 cup half and half
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 package Pillsbury Purely Simple Buttercream Frosting Mix, prepared using the directions on the package

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin pan with 18 cupcake liners.
  2. In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients together until smooth.
  3. Evenly distribute the batter into the 18 cupcake liners.
  4. Bake for 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out with only a few crumbs.
  5. Wait until cool and then frost with the buttercream. Top with chopped candy.
https://lovintheoven.com/simply-chocolate-cupcakes/

You can check out more Pillsbury ideas here:

This is a sponsored post, but the opinions expressed are my own.

Bacon Breakfast Bake with Eggs

by Leave a Comment

IMG_7085

I’m working on a lot of holiday goodies coming up, but for now, I’m going to leave a quick post while Ellie is still napping. This bacon breakfast bake with eggs is everything that I’ve ever dreamed of. It’s all of your staple breakfast items baked into one.

IMG_7084

I made this quite a while ago when we had house guests over. I prepared it the night before and then threw it in the oven the next morning. It was such an ease to make and very fulfilling. It fed a ton of guys, too!

IMG_7086

I’ll have to make it again soon. Maybe for Christmas morning?! Recipe from Food and Wine

Print
Bacon Breakfast Bake with Eggs

Ingredients

  • 1 pound bakery white bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (16 cups)
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 pound sliced applewood-smoked bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
  • One 28-ounce can whole Italian tomatoes—drained, chopped and patted dry
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 1/2 pound extra-sharp cheddar, shredded (about 2 cups)
  • 1/2 pound Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)
  • 2 tablespoons snipped chives
  • 1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • Salt
  • 8 large eggs
  • Hot sauce, for serving

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Lightly oil a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish. In a large bowl, toss the bread with the olive oil and spread on a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes, tossing once or twice, until the bread is golden and lightly crisp.
  2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the bacon over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain; reserve 2 tablespoons of the fat in the skillet.
  3. Add the onion to the skillet and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and crushed red pepper and cook until any liquid is evaporated, about 3 minutes.
  4. Return the toasted bread cubes to the bowl. Add the contents of the skillet, along with the bacon, shredded cheeses, chives and broth. Stir until the bread is evenly moistened. Season with salt. Spread the mixture in the baking dish and cover with lightly oiled foil.
  5. Bake the bread mixture in the center of the oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until the top is crispy, about 15 minutes longer. Carefully remove the baking dish from the oven and, using a ladle, press 8 indentations into the bread mixture. Crack an egg into each indentation. Return the dish to the oven and bake for about 15 minutes, until the egg whites are set but the yolks are still runny. Serve the breakfast bake right away with hot sauce.
  6. MAKE AHEAD The recipe can be prepared through Step 4 and refrigerated overnight.
https://lovintheoven.com/bacon-breakfast-bake-eggs/

Spicy Sausage and Bacon Pasta

by Leave a Comment

IMG_3784

We haven’t done a pasta dish in a while. I could seriously eat pasta for every meal, but my DH says no to pasta more than I would like him to. Probably because it’s not the healthiest, but I digress.

If I was the only one eating this dish, I would add some more vegetables to the mix. It’s a great recipe, but it definitely needs some green (or maybe just add a side salad next to it and call it a day). Eating the recommended amount of veggies a day is hard work.

IMG_3795

I used turkey bacon in this to be a little healthier, but feel free to use the good stuff. You could also sub regular cooked chicken instead of sausage. Whatever you want.

IMG_3801

Recipe slightly adapted from Kevin and Amanda.

Print
Spicy Sausage and Bacon Pasta

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 chicken sausages, sliced
  • 3 slices of turkey bacon
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes and green chiles
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 8 oz penne pasta
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 1/2 cup shredded cheese (any kind: monterey, cheddar. I used the Mexican mix)

Directions

  1. Add olive oil to a pan over medium high heat.
  2. Add sausage and bacon, cook until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.
  3. Add broth, tomatoes, cream, pasta, salt and pepper and stir. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until pasta is tender, about 15 minutes.
  4. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup cheese. Serve immediately!
https://lovintheoven.com/spicy-sausage-bacon-pasta/

Categories