Oreo Pudding Poke Cake

My kids love Oreo cookies! Anytime I make a dessert with Oreos I know it's going to be a hit. This cake was so delicious and it was super easy to make. My kids loved it! This is definitely a favorite.

Printable Recipe

Oreo Pudding Poke Cake
1 box chocolate cake mix (any kind)
ingredients to make cake (oil, water, eggs)
2 (4 oz) pkgs instant Oreo pudding
4 cups milk
10-15 crushed Oreo cookies

Mix cake according to directions. Bake in a greased 9x13 pan according to directions on package. When cake is finished baking, mix together pudding and milk until smooth. Let sit for 2 minutes to thicken slightly. Poke holes about 1 inch apart in warm cake. Pour pudding over cake, making sure to aim for the holes. Spread evenly over cake, pushing the pudding down into the holes. Cool in refrigerator for one hour. Top with crushed Oreos.

Recipe adapted from The Country Cook

Slow Cooker Carnitas

Printable Recipe

Slow Cooker Carnitas
4 lbs pork (any type-ribs, chops, roasts, loin, etc.)
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tsp cumin
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 (4 oz) can diced green chiles
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
2-3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped
corn or flour tortillas
Toppings: cheddar cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, lettuce, cilantro, guacamole

If using pork loin or a roast, cut into a few pieces. Place pork in a crock pot. Add remaining ingredients except for tortillas and toppings. Cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.

Using two forks, shred meat into bite sized pieces. Place shredded meat on a baking sheet and spread out evenly. Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes so the meat gets lightly brown and crispy but not dried out.

Serve in warm tortillas and top with desired toppings.

Serves 8-10

Recipe adapted from Easy To Be Gluten Free

Slow Cooker San Francisco Chops

These pork chops were so good. They fell apart so easily and were so tender. I altered the recipe slightly from the original. I added more pork chops and I doubled the sauce so I would have enough to feed my family. Here is the adapted recipe below.

Printable Recipe

Slow Cooker San Francisco Chops

2 Tbsp olive oil
6-8 pork chops, about 1-inch thick (can use boneless or bone-in)
salt and pepper to taste
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth
4 Tbsp packed light brown sugar
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp cold water
cooked rice for serving

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat until hot. Season pork chops on both sides with salt and pepper and place in the skillet. Brown the pork chops for 1-2 minutes on each side until golden. Transfer pork chops to the slow cooker.

Add the garlic to the skillet and stir constantly over medium heat until aromatic and golden, about 30 seconds. Stir in the soy sauce, chicken broth, brown sugar, and red pepper flakes. Cook and stir until sugar is dissolved. Pour over pork chops. Cover and cook on low heat for 6-7 hours until the meat is tender.

If using bone-in pork chops, fish out the bones from the slow cooker. Remove the pork chops. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and cold water. Stir into the sauce in the slow cooker. Return the pork chops to the slow cooker. Turn the slow cooker to high heat and cook for 15-30 minutes until the sauce is slightly thickened. Serve over rice and garnish with green onions.

Serves 6-8

Recipe adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Pepper Jack Mac & Cheese

Printable Recipe

Pepper Jack Mac & Cheese

12 oz elbow macaroni, cooked and drained

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp flour

2 1/2 cups milk

2 cups shredded colby jack cheese

2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp dijon

crushed red pepper flakes, to taste

bread crumbs to taste

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour and cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Stir in milk and bring to a gentle boil. Remove from heat. Add cheese, one cup at a time, until melted. Add salt, pepper, dijon, and red pepper flakes. Stir until smooth. Stir in pasta and coat evenly. Pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes.

Serves 8

Recipe adapted from All Recipes

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

Printable Recipe

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup green salsa
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
3 Tbsp chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp sliced green onions
2 cups cooked shredded chicken
1 cup grated pepper jack cheese
fajita tortillas
salt

Preheat oven to 425. Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Set aside. Combine cream cheese, green salsa, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, onion powder, and garlic powder. Mix well. Add cilantro and green onions. Stir in chicken and pepper jack cheese. Mix well. Heat tortillas in microwave until warm and pliable. Place 2-3 Tbsp of mixture in the center of each tortilla. Roll tightly and place seamside down on prepared cookie sheet. Spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt. Bake 15-20 minutes or until crisp. Serve with salsa, sour cream, and guacamole.

Serves 8

Recipe adapted from The Sisters' Cafe

Easy Ice Cream Cake

This is one of my favorite desserts! It looks like it's complicated to make because of all of the layers but it's actually made using ice cream sandwiches. It's super easy to make and it's so delicious! You can impress your friends with this dessert. They'll think you spent hours making it but it actually takes about 10 minutes.

Printable Recipe

Easy Ice Cream Cake

1/2 cup fudge topping, warmed
1 (8 oz) container thawed cool whip, divided
1 pkg. (4 serving size) instant chocolate pudding mix
1/4 cup milk
13 oreo cookies, coarsely chopped (reserve 3 of the cookies for the top)
12 ice cream sandwiches

Pour the fudge topping into a medium bowl. Stir in 1 cup of the cool whip with a wire whisk until well blended. Add dry pudding mix and milk; stir 2 minutes or until well blended. Stir chopped cookies into pudding mixture. Arrange 4 of the ice cream sandwiches side by side on a large serving plate. Top with half of the pudding mixture. Repeat with four more ice cream sandwiches. Top with remaining pudding mixture, then the last 4 sandwiches. Frost the top and sides with remaining cool whip. Top with remaining cookies. Freeze for at least 4 hours before serving.

Makes 10 servings

Recipe adapted from Kraft

American Girl Birthday Party

My daughter is really into American Girl dolls right now so that's what she wanted her 7th birthday party theme to be. When I was planning her party, I looked for ideas on Pinterest. There were a lot of really cute ideas but it only overwhelmed me and made me feel like I'm a mediocre mom. I'm not super creative or crafty and I think that some of the ideas are over the top. I don't think it's necessary to serve 10 different desserts at a little girl's party. So I decided to simplify. You don't need to go overboard or break the bank to throw an awesome party!

I found these cute invitations at Amercan Girl Ideas. They had a lot of different invitations on this website but these are the invitations I chose. You can print them out on cardstock and write on the invitations.  Or you can save them to your computer and edit them to add your daughter's name and the party info. 

I'm all about keeping things simple at the party so we served fresh fruit (which was a huge hit with the little girls) and these cupcakes using this recipe: White Almond Sour Cream Cake.

All of the little girls brought their dolls to the party. I planned two activities for the girls. We made blankets and sleep masks for their dolls.

Items needed for blankets:

fleece fabric cut into 14x16" pieces

To make the blankets, cut strips all around each piece of fabric for the girls to tie. The girls will tie two strips together in a double knot so make sure you have an even number of strips. I cut my fabric a little smaller than 14x16" and I think it would've worked better if it was a little bigger. This was a really fun activity for the girls. They were all able to do this easily with little help.

Items needed for sleep masks:

foam paper

stickers

scissors

string or yarn

To make the sleep masks make a template and use that to cut out masks using the foam paper. Have the girls decorate the masks however they like and then tie it around the doll's head using string or yarn.

 

This was such a fun party and the girls had a blast! Here are all of the girls together. Yes, I know that's a lot of girls. My daughter has too many friends and I don't have the heart to leave anyone out. So we invited all of them. The more the merrier, right?