Easy Pasta Salad: Recipe

Let me start this post by saying that no, I have NOT been cooking since our sweet baby arrived last week! However, the weekend before we had her, we attended a pot luck dinner for the Boy Scout troop Dan volunteers with.

It was an award ceremony / rank promotion, and it was really cool to talk more to the people he works with each week and meet the high school student he has spent so much time with helping him achieve the special God and Life award!

Everyone was supposed to bring something, and not knowing when I would go into labor, I opted for this SUPER easy pasta salad that my mom (and many others, I'm sure) has been making for as long as I can remember.

The only thing you have to remember is that the noodles will have to cool after being boiled before you can add the other ingredients. 

I doubled this recipe for the event, but in hindsight, I wish I hadn't. There was SO MUCH food there. 

And now for the good part... the recipe!

Do you like pasta salad?

What is your go-to dish for a pot luck?

    

2 Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins: Recipe

It's Friday again, and since it's finally September, I am sharing this super awesome pumpkin muffin recipe with you all!

Recipe is subjective, though. I feel pretty silly even sharing this one. It's all over Pinterest, though, so I had to give it a try... and what kind of blogger would I be if I didn't share my results with you? ;-)

I'll admit it. I thought they were going to be dry and dense... and not very good. Luckily, that was not the case! The canned pumpkin turned these bad boys out just right!

This recipe made 12 muffins for us. We ate them ALL within a few days. I totally meant to freeze some for easy snacks for after Baby Cookie gets here... but that went out the door when we tasted how good these are. Plus, they're so easy, I'm sure I can whip up another batch soon!

2 Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins

INGREDIENTS

• 1 package cake mix (any kind - I used butter pecan here, but I've heard spice, carrot, and yellow all work really well!)

• 1 15 oz. can pure pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)

• OPTIONAL: chocolate chips / cream cheese frosting

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350º.

2. In a large bowl, combine the cake mix and the pumpkin.

3. Use a beater to mix until batter is consistent.

4. Add chocolate chips if you are using. (I used the mini ones in mine!)

5. Scoop the mixture into muffin liners.

6. Bake for 20-25 minutes (mine needed 22 minutes exactly).

7. Try to let them cool before digging in... but we couldn't wait that long!

Are you a 'pumpkin' person?

What's your favorite kind of muffin?

    

Chocolate Candy Cookies: Recipe

It's been a while since I've participated in my own little Food Friday... which is disappointing since I've still been making things. I just haven't found the time to share the recipes.

Today's is a winner, though - super duper easy cookies... and all that chocolate. Mmmmm.

But really - these are SO easy. I made them when the Air Force Academy flying team was in Ohio to compete at Nationals. Dan was on the team while he was a cadet, so we drove to Columbus a couple times to see some of his friends and watch them compete. And who would I be if I showed up without goodies for them? Exactly. 

They loved these. And they were a big hit with my pregnant taste buds as well. Enjoy.

Easy Chocolate Candy Cookies

INGREDIENTS

• 1 package chocolate cake mix

• 1 egg

• 1/2 cup butter, softened

• 2 tbsp chocolate syrup (or water if you don't have any)

• 1 1/2 cups M&Ms or other chocolate candies

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350º.

2. In a large bowl, combine the egg, butter, syrup, and cake mix with an electric mixer on low speed until completely mixed.

3. Add candies, a little at a time, and stir in with a wooden spoon.

4. Drop rounded tablespoonfulls of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet about two inches apart.

5. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

6. Cool on wire racks.

Do you like chocolate?

What's your favorite kind of cookie?

Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles: Recipe

Happy Food Friday, everyone! I am so excited to FINALLY be blogging about these delicious truffles today. I made them for... get this... CHRISTMAS last year. You read that right. I've been sitting on this recipe for FIVE MONTHS. Oops.

And don't fret: there are even more to come. I made four flavors of truffles, and I'll eventually share them all. The others definitely have bigger Christmas flavors, so it seems a little weird to post them in May... but probably in a couple months when I'm out of post topics you'll see a little bit of Christmas in July!

These are seriously so good. And just because I made them for Christmas doesn't mean they wouldn't be delicious any other time of year. Peanut butter is versatile, guys. And delicious. You should definitely make these. 

The peanut butter balls without the candy coating are also incredible stuffed inside cupcakes, in case you were wondering. Yum. 

Don't these just make you want to eat the entire tin? I want some right now, but next time, I'd make AT LEAST a double batch. I only didn't this time because I was making three other kinds as well to take to our family Christmas dinner. Everyone enjoyed these, and the peanut butter ones were the first to go! 

I highly recommend making them for a family gathering... or a military function... or just for yourself because you won't want to share!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles

INGREDIENTS

• 3 1/2 tbsp butter, melted

• 1/2 cup peanut butter

• 1+ cup powdered sugar

• 2 tbsp marshmallow fluff (optional)

• 8 oz chocolate candy coating

DIRECTIONS

1. Melt butter in the microwave.

2. In a medium bowl, combine peanut butter, butter, and marshmallow fluff, and stir well to combine.

3. Using a spatula to mix, gradually add 1 cup of powdered sugar, adding more until dough is no longer sticky.

4. Whip peanut butter mixture until no longer clumpy looking.

5. Roll dough into a large ball, and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

6. Roll one inch balls from dough, and place on a cookie sheet.

7. Return the dough balls to the refrigerator.

8. Melt chocolate candy coating according to package directions.

9. Line another baking sheet with wax paper.

10. Dip dough balls into chocolate, and place on the wax paper to dry.

11. Refrigerate truffles when finished. 

Do you like truffles?

Are you a fan of chocolate and peanut butter together?

    

Creamy Cucumber Salad: Recipe

Happy Friday, everyone! Today, I am busy having my anatomy scan (finally!) and then shopping with a friend... so I thought I'd leave a light, yummy recipe with you all. Enter: creamy cucumber salad.

You may remember my crazy aversion to cucumbers early on in my pregnancy. It was awful. I LOVE cucumbers. I could eat them every day. But there was a time (that lasted about 15 weeks... eek!) that I couldn't even stand to be around them. Dan would cut one for his salad, and I'd be all the way across the house and start gagging. No fun.

But... no worries anymore! Cucumbers are back in the rotation, thank goodness! I made this recipe for Easter and for a spouses' recipe club event. I don't know how anyone could NOT like it... unless, of course, they don't like cucumbers. Silly people. 

I recommend chilling this in the fridge for a while after mixing it all together... that way, the flavors can really mesh, and you'll get the best possible outcome.

Or you could eat some right away because it's tough not to... it's still good, I promise. I know this from experience. 

Now I'm craving this again. Maybe I'll pick up some fresh cucumbers at the local farmer's market and go crazy. 

Do you like cucumbers?

What's your favorite side dish?

    

Easy Waldorf Salad: Recipe

Is it already Friday again? Hey, I'm not complaining! But that means it's time for another recipe, and I am so excited to share one of my favorite cold side dishes ever... Waldorf salad! 

If you are having company over and need one more item to go with the fabulous meal you have prepared, why not try this out? Now that it's warming up outside, it's even better - but I won't lie: Waldorf salad is even on my Thanksgiving menu. Yum. 

It goes great with BBQ, grilled meats, or anything heartier. It lightens up the meal just enough... and I find that even people who claim to not like celery enjoy this salad. Maybe it's the crispness of the green apples... I don't know. But it's a winner for sure.

A lot of people make this with grapes instead of raisins... and I totally like it that way sometimes. Just know that you can substitute them, and the salad will still be delicious. And I also wanted to point out how I love that this is called "salad" because it's definitely not very healthy... but it makes me feel better. 

You can also choose to use walnuts instead of pecans. I enjoy both, but sadly, I am allergic to walnuts... so I try my very best not to eat them. Luckily, pecans are just as delicious, and they work very well in this recipe. You choose whichever you like best! There's a lot of room to play around. 

I just made this for Easter last month, but now I want it again. Just reading the ingredients list has me craving it. I guess there are worse dishes to crave, right? ;-) 

Do you like Waldorf salad?

What's your favorite side dish?