Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Oreo Pie

Yeah nothing in that title says gross. Every single word makes me start to salivate. It's just as good as it sounds too. Now this was the first time I made it and normally I wait until the second time so my appearance is better, but people wanted it and its just too good not to share!

Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Oreo Pie

Ingredients:

* 1 bag Oreos (I like to use just regular stuffed Oreos)

* 1 cup butter, divided

* 2/2 cup packed brown sugar

* 1 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream, divided

* 1 bag dark chocolate chips

 Directions:

* Finely crush the Oreos with a food processor or blender. Stir crumbs together with 8 tablespoons melted butter until well combined. Press into the bottom and sides of a pie pan. Freeze crust for 10 minutes until set.     Best. Crust. Ever!

*Combine remaining 8 tablespoons butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture begins to bubble. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Slowly whisk in ¼ cup heavy whipping cream until smooth. Cool caramel about 15 minutes. Pour the caramel over the Oreo crust, then return to freezer for about 30-45 minutes until just chilled and set.

*Place chocolate chips in a glass bowl. In a saucepan, bring 1 cup heavy whipping cream to a simmer over medium-high heat. Pour the cream over the chocolate chips and let sit for 5 minutes, then whisk until completely smooth. Pour the chocolate over the caramel and freeze for a final 30 minutes, until just chilled and set. 

*TIPS: The chocolate layer is a super thick. Its super good, but super rich. I would almost cut it in half, but its personal preference. If you like thick, rich chocolate go for the whole bag! 

**Make sure the pie is laying flat in the freezer. haha Mine tilted some so the caramel all went to one side. 

***Also, freeze the pie. haha They say you can refrigerate it, but its a lot easier to cut if its frozen. 

****I would probably let the caramel bubble for longer than a minute because mine was runnier than what I wanted.

*****OH, and use a spring pan or a tart pan if you can. OR maybe put down some wax or parchment paper to help get it out of the pan. Its tough, but nothing can keep me from chocolatey goodness.

*Before serving, sprinkle the top with a flaky sea salt.

Makes: 8-12 servings.

Meringue Cookies

OH MY GOSH! If you have not tried these cookies you NEED too. They are super easy and super delicious! They are only around 20 calories each so you don't have to feel bad eating 5 at a time. Really 5 or more of these cookies equals the calories of 1 other cookie! haha

 They are light and fluffy and you can flavor them however you want! Seriously a win-win!

You start by adding white distilled vinegar to the bowl.

Then add a pinch of salt.

Add 4 egg whites and mix until it is foamy, about 1 minute.

 This is what you want it to look like.

With it still whisking, add the sugar slowly.

Let it whip for a little bit then add your vanilla.

I have other flavorings so I decided to add marshmallow too. I cannot wait to try my other flavors!! If you are looking for flavorings like mine I got them off of amazon ($4 each probably - I can't really remember) , but that's because I live in the middle of nowhere. Larger stores with baking or cake decorating supplies will carry some!

You want to whip until they form stiff peaks. This is what it looks like in the bowl. If you can tip the bowl upside down and nothing moves your good to go!

 You are ready to bake! Use parchment paper or spray your baking sheets with nonstick spray to help get them off. Some recipes will have you just drop the batter on the baking sheet (pictured above) or you can pipe it out (pictured below). Its up to you. Both work just fine. I liked the piping method only because it was a lot faster and you can make them prettier if you want. I obviously did not spend much time on presentation. haha

 You want them to be browned all over. Don't take them out until then, otherwise they will turn sticky and they are super hard to eat. If you can wait for them to cool, I think they taste even better!

Meringue Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp white distilled vinegar
• a pinch of salt
• 4 egg whites
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla or any other flavoring you want

Instructions

1. Wipe out your mixing bowl and whisk with a paper towel. This way you can make sure there is no grease. It will just help make the meringue.
2. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
3. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or spray with a non stick cooking spray.
4. Put the vinegar, salt, and egg whites into the mixing bowl.
5. Mix on medium speed until foamy. It will take about a minute.
6. Once it is foamy, add the sugar in a slow, steady stream into the mixing bowl.
7. Put mixer on high speed and mix for a few minutes.
8. When you start to see it firm up, add your flavoring. Then continue mixing until stiff peaks form. Roughly it will take about 4-5 minutes of mixing for this to occur.
9. Put into a piping bag and pipe onto sheets or just use a spoon and scoop onto the baking sheet.
10. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until browned all over.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Roll Ups

YES they are just as delicious as the name describes. So what sparked my interest to try these? Sometimes I go into my fridge, find little leftovers of stuff that I hate throwing out and then find recipes where I can use them. I HATE throwing away food. 1. Its wasteful and 2. Its like flushing money down the toilet. I'm all for not being wasteful. :) It seems like anytime that a recipe doesn't call for the whole thing of cream cheese I end up throwing it away. So I had a morning off, leftover cream cheese, and Pintrest. It all lead to this recipe. 

 Just check out that golden brown, deliciousness.

So this is all you need. Sugar, powdered sugar, cream cheese, butter, cinnamon, and bread. I have all of this on hand normally (except the cream cheese) so that's what makes this recipe perfect!

Cut off all the crusts of the bread. I recommend just doing this to a few pieces of bread at a time. The recipe I found calls for a whole loaf of bread, but no way do I see the filling covering that many pieces.

Next feed the crusts to your dogs. Remember, don't be wasteful!

Dash gets a little crazy when it comes to food. haha

Oh you don't have a dog? I'm sorry that must suck. You can go get one! There are tons out there that want a loving family. Check out your local shelter or look online. People give away dogs all the time. We found our little Walter on Facebook! :)

Ok after the crusts are cut off use a rolling pin and smash each piece.

Combine cream cheese and powdered sugar then set aside.

Mix sugar and cinnamon together and set aside. I used a plate because you roll them in it. A plate is easier than a bowl in this instance.

 Spread some of the cream cheese mixture on a piece of bread.

Roll it up

Get your rolling station all set up. If you haven't done it yet, get your butter melted!

Roll one in the melted butter.

Then roll in cinnamon sugar mixture.

Repeat until your done! Put in a 350 degree oven for 16-20 minutes.

 Done! Super easy. Super delicious. The best part is you will only want to eat 1 or 2 of these. They aren't too sweet, but will satisfy any sweet tooth you may have!

Chefs and bakers seriously have the best job. They get to try new recipes and eat food all day. So lucky!

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Roll Ups

Ingredients                                                                                              

• 1 loaf of thin, white bread                                                                       
• ⅔ bar of cream cheese, softened
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• ¾ cups sugar
• 1 TB cinnamon
• ½ cup butter, melted

Instructions

1. Cut off the crust of the bread.
2. With a rolling pin, flatten bread.
3. In a small bowl combine cream cheese and powdered sugar until well blended.
4. In a separate bowl combine sugar and cinnamon - set aside.
5. Spread 1 - 1½ tablespoons of cream cheese mixture onto each flattened bread piece and roll up.
6. Dip each rolled bread into melted butter and then into the cinnamon and sugar mix.
7. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
8. Repeat for remaining pieces of bread.
9. Bake at 350 for 16-20 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm.
10. ENJOY!

Homemade McGriddles

So seriously...who doesn't love McGriddles? The part no one wants to think about is how absolutely terrible they are for you. Packed full of calories! So I searched Pintrest and someone had the same idea as me. Why not make homemade ones?! Anyway this is how I make Marrying Prince Charming's version! Her version is even healthier than this one.

Homemade McGriddles

Ingredients:

For Sausage:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black ground pepper
• 1/4 generous cup syrup

For Eggs:

• 12 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• Sprinkle of salt
• Sprinkle of pepper 

For Pancakes:

• 4 eggs
• 2 tablespoons vanilla
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 4 cups flour
• Milk

 Instructions:

1. For the sausage, In a medium bowl mix spices together, then add ground beef, combine.
2. Next add maple syrup, working it into the spiced meat.
3. Shape into 12 equal rounds and cook in a skillet until done.  
4. For the eggs, with a whisk in a large bowl whip eggs, milk, salt and pepper together.
5. Bake at 350 in a greased large muffin tray for about 20 minutes, or until cooked all the way through.
6. For the pancakes, mix together dry ingredients in one bowl, and wet ingredients in another (excluding the milk).
7. Combine wet and dry, then pour in enough milk to make the mixture look like warm runny peanut butter.
8. Cook 24 equal sized pancakes on the stove, or on a griddle.

Now you can use sausage, but this tastes delicious. Plus sausage is full of fats and this is a great way to cut those out. I'm not sure if Curt even knows that it isn't sausage. haha

So this will fill up your muffin tins. Later on you'll see that I cut my eggs in half to make them smaller and also I get egg in every bite that way.

Oh don't those just look delicious!

If you don't want to make your own pancakes, feel free to use a premix! I just had all of the ingredients so I said..heck I'll try them.

This is what your eggs will look like when they are done!

I just throw each item on their own plate and then everyone can make their sandwich however they want! Feel free to add cheese too!

Don't forget to dip this in syrup before every bite!

Ham Loaf

This is a recipe that I grew up on. My Grandma Gillespie would make it and I absolutely LOVE it. So much  that a few years ago I got the recipe from her. I have made it for Curt and lets say its a crowd pleaser and its soooo simple!! Its like meatloaf, but better. :)

Ham Loaf Recipe

Ingredients 

For the Loaf:

• 1 1/2 lbs ground cured ham (I like to choose a honey ham)
• 1 1/2 lbs ground fresh ham (can substitute ground pork)
• 1 1/2 cup cracker crumbs
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup pineapple juice 

For the Sauce:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/8 tsp dry mustard
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 1/2 cup pineapple juice

Instructions 
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Combine all of the ingredients for the loaf.
3. Take 1/2 cup of mixture and form into loaf.
4. Continue until all of the mixture is used.
5. Bake for 1 1/2 hours.
6. While ham loaves are cooking, combine all of the ingredients for the sauce.
7. A few minutes before loaves are done cooking, heat up the sauce.
8. Pour over loafs or put into bowls for dipping.

So this is the ingredients. Its not too much and 6 of the ingredients I always have in our house so you may even have most of them!

So the recipe calls for ground cured ham (this just means cooked). Well.....this ingredient gives me a lot of trouble. I have just gotten to the point where I get it thinly shaved. That way I can chop it up and throw it in. It works pretty good! As for the ground fresh ham (all I mean is not cooked - raw) I substitute with ground pork. Its like no one in this world knows how awesome this recipe is.

I just throw everything in my mixer and combine!

Super easy and same amount of dirty dishes!

Just form into loafs. I normally use a 1/2 cup measuring cup, but you can make them any size. You could even use mini loaf pans if you have them!

Put the loafs on the pan and bake!

While the loaves are baking I throw all of the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan. Now you can pour this directly on the loaves when they are done or use it as dipping sauce. I do dipping sauce for 2 reasons...Curt doesn't like it and I want it in every bite. Its a win-win for us!

Serve with whatever sides you want and ENJOY!