Oreo Dirt Pie

I love Oreos and I love when things come together well with Oreos: ice cream, cookies, cakes, etc. The only thing that didn't work for me on this recipe was the poke cake portion of it. Typically all the stuff would flow into the holes and fill the cake, but mine was still too thick. Tasted fine, but not as it should have been. Maybe I didn't heat the fudge long enough? 

• 1 box chocolate fudge cake mix, including eggs, oil, and water requested on the box
• 14.3 oz Oreos
• 12.8 oz hot fudge
• 2 packages 3.4 oz dark chocolate instant pudding mix, divided
• 3 1/2  cup milk, divided
• 8 oz cool whip
• gummy worms for topping, optional

Combine cake mix and its required ingredients according to the instructions on the box. Follow the instructions on baking temperature and time as directed on the box for a 9 x 13 inch pan. Cook until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes.

After cake has cooled a little but is still warm, use the end of a wooden spoon or dowel to poke holes all over the top of the cake. Heat the jar of hot fudge in the microwave until you can stir it and thin it out, reserving a little for topping later. Pour fudge over the top of the cake and allow it to absorb until the cake as cooked.

Once the cake has completely cooled, prepare one pack of pudding with 1 3/4 cup milk. Before the pudding sets, pour it over the top of the cake. Place the cake in the fridge to let it set, about 15 minutes.

Mix the second box of pudding with the remaining milk. Refrigerate until the pudding has set. While the pudding is setting, place 3/4 of the Oreos in a large zip top bag and crush them using a rolling pin. 

Once the pudding is set, stir in the cool whip until well blended. Mix in crushed Oreos and spread over the top of the cake. Top with remaining hot fudge, Oreos, and worms. Serve cold. Keep leftovers in fridge.

NOTES: Doug and I like dirt and worms shakes so we decided to make the cake a little more colorful with gummy worms on the top. Make it your own!

Serves 12

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Recipe from www.thefrugalnavywife.com

Cake Mix Chocolate Chip Muffins

There was a sale on cake mixes a while ago and I don't actually have a lot of cake-baking occasions. I am on the rotation to bring stuff to the coffeehouse at church and figured there had to be some breakfast-y cake mix recipes. And I was right! Super simple, gets rid of something in my pantry, and I always have the other ingredients on hand. 

• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 15 oz box yellow cake mix
• 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• granulated sugar for topping, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Whisk the eggs, milk, and melted butter until combined. Add the cake mix and stir until just combined (do not overmix). Fold in the chocolate chips and reserve some for topping.

Line a muffin tin with 12 muffin cups. Distribute the muffin batter evenly into the cups and top with additional chocolate chips and optional granulated sugar. Bake for 20-23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Serves 12

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Recipe from buildyourbite.com

Marinated Olives

If you have met my husband, Doug, you know he can be an olive fiend when out at restaurants. If they have some kind of olive plate or charcuterie board, watch out! He will eat ALL the olives before you can even think about it so this recipe was for him. This is a very simple way to fancy up some less expensive ingredients for your next get together. 

• 2 cups large pimiento-stuffed green olives, drained
• 1 cup pitted kalamata olives, drained
• 1 cup pitted medium ripe olives (black), drained
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp minced fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tsp minced fresh rosemary or 1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
• 2 tsp grated lemon zest
• 4 cloves garlic, slivered
• pepper to taste

Place olives in a bowl. Combine the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl; pour over olives and stir. Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 days before serving, stirring several times each day.

Olives may be refrigerated for 2 weeks. Serve with a slotted spoon.

Serves 8

Total Time: 5 minutes plus marinating

Recipe from Taste of Home

Mal's Shadow Spare Ribs

Ribs aren't really my thing. Not bad, but usually just too messy to eat. And I think a lot of it ends up coming down to the sauce that's on them, so are the ribs really necessary? 

These were ok. You can tell they got a bit burned on the outside. Again, nothing special in my opinion, but not bad. Not worth the marinating and long cook time to me. 

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup rice wine
• 3 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 4 lb beef short ribs or pork spareribs

Combine all the ingredients except the ribs in a plastic bag or bowl. Add the ribs and let marinate in the fridge for around 12 hours, or overnight.

When ready to cook, heat the oven to 350 degrees and set the ribs on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake them slow for 1 1/2 hours, basing occasionally with the marinating juice. Serve hot.

Serves 4

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 1 1/2 hours, plus overnight marinating

Recipe from Firefly: The Big Damn Cookbook by Chelsea Monroe-Cassel

Crab Quiche

Quiche is so good. Very filling and you can do so much with it. I'm sure this was not in my low-cholesterol-approved diet, but it was still yummy and not difficult to make either. 

• 1 sheet refrigerated pie crust
• 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese, divided
• 1/2 cup chopped sweet red pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups half and half cream
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 3/4 cup flaked imitation crabmeat, chopped

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Unroll crust into a 9 inch pie plate; flute edge. Line unpricked pastry shell with a double thickness of heavy-duty foil. Bake for 5 minutes; remove foil. Bake 5 minutes longer. Immediately sprinkle 1/2 cup cheese over crust.

Reduce heat to 375 degrees. In a skillet, sauté red pepper and green onions in butter until tender. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, cream, salt, and pepper. Stir in crab, red pepper mixture, and remaining cheese. Pour into crust.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. let stand for 15 minutes before cutting.

Serves 8

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes plus standing

Recipe from Taste of Home

Red Velvet Punch

As you can probably tell by the measurements, this is a GIGANTIC recipe. I have a very large punch bowl and it filled this completely. That said, we only had about 12 people at the party and it was all gone. So it must be good! You could definitely also make this an adult beverage with champagne instead of ginger ale, if you want. 

• 2 quarts cranberry juice
• 6 6-oz cans pineapple juice
• 1 6-oz can frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
• 1 6-oz can frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
• 1 quart ginger ale

Mix all ingredients except ginger ale in a large container. Chill, covered, for 8-10 hours. Pour into a punch bowl. Stir in the ginger ale. Ladle into punch cups.

Serves 24

Total Time: 5 minutes plus chilling

NOTES: Not sure why you need to mix most of the ingredients ahead of time and have them take up a ton of space in your fridge. The second time I made this, I chilled all the ingredients separately and then mixed them right before I needed the punch. My punch bowl was just too large to be taking up all that space in my fridge for a day!

Also, after making the recipe again, Doug made ice cubes out of the leftovers. He has one of those ice ball trays. He put one in a glass, poured a little Squirt soda over it and said it was delicious.

Recipe from The Pampered Chef The Kitchen is the Heart of the Home cookbook 

Chicken Piccata Meatballs - People magazine edition

The original recipe was too lemony. I know, something you never thought you'd hear me say. But it was too much. So I adjusted the recipe down from 2 Tbsp to 1. We also served ours over Pasta Roni to add a little something. 

• 3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1-2 soft white bread slices, crusts removed, slices torn into small pieces
• 1 large egg
• 2 oz Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated (1/2 cup), plus more for serving
• 2 Tbsp whole milk
• 2 small shallots, finely chopped, divided
• 3 Tbsp finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, divided
• 2 Tbsp drained capers, chopped, plus 1 1/2 Tbsp drained whole capers, divided
• 1 tsp grated lemon zest
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp kosher salt, divided
• 1 lb ground chicken
• 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups lower sodium chicken broth

Preheat oven to 450 degrees with rack in upper third position. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper; drizzle with 1 Tbsp of the oil and set aside. 

Stir together bread, egg, cheese, and milk in a large bowl using a fork until thoroughly combined. Set aside for 5 minutes, allowing bread to absorb liquid. Add 1/4 cup of the shallots, 2 Tbsp of the parsley, 2 Tbsp of the chopped capers, lemon zest, and 1/2 tsp salt; stir together using a rubber spatula until mixture is smooth. Add chicken, breaking up into chunks. Using your fingertips, gently combine chicken with bread mixture just until blended. With damp hands, form mixture into 16 balls (about 1 1/2 Tbsp each); arrange 1 inch apart on baking sheet. 

Bake meatballs until tops are golden brown, 8-10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 Tbsp oil in a large deep skillet over medium. Add remaining shallots and 1/2 tsp salt; cook, stirring often, for 1 minute. Add flour, whisking until smooth. Continue to whisk, adding chicken broth and lemon juice; whisk until smooth. When sauce begins to bubble, reduce heat to low, and add 1 1/2 Tbsp whole capers; simmer for 5 minutes.

Add meatballs to skillet; cover and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in remaining 1 Tbsp parsley. Serve with additional cheese.

Serves 4

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour