Bucatini All'Amatriciana

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Giada DeLaurentiis! She is my favorite cook on the Food Network. (Well, she and Paula Deen are tied.) Over the years I have made MANY of Giada's recipes. When I found out that Target was carrying her brand I was so excited! Her pasta recipes always look so fresh and delicious.
One thing I realized when watching her show, however, is that she always cooks with pasta shapes that I cannot find in stores. Now I know that to a lot of people, pasta is pasta. Who cares about the shape, but after two years of searching for Bucatini noodles, I wanted to SCREAM when I found this!It's basically Spaghetti Noodles, only thicker, and with a tunnel down the center of them!
I cannot WAIT TO EAT DINNER! I actually just took the recipe from the back of the box, and followed that with a few minor changes. So here it is:



Bucatini All'Amatriciana

1 lb Bucatini Pasta
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 lb Peppered Bacon, fried and crumbled (this is different than her recipe, hers calls for 6oz of pancetta, but I used bacon, and a lot of it! This is a mostly meatless pasta but I thought that by adding the bacon I could use it as a main dish.)
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1 14oz can of crushed tomatoes
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese

1. To a large, heavy skillet add onion and olive oil. Cook for about 5 minutes till tender.

2. Add in garlic, red pepper flakes, tomatoes, salt, pepper, and bacon. Simmer, uncovered, over medium heat for about 15 minutes or until sauce slightly thickens.
3. Cook pasta according to directions and toss with sauce.

4. Stir in cheese, and serve! Garnish with additional grated cheese.

Peanut Butter Banana Cupcakes

Well. . .here's another recipe that started with a favorite flavor combo. Made Peanut Butter and Banana sandwiches for lunch. I like to add a drizzle of honey to my sandwich so it's just messy and tasty! My kids like it too, but due to the "no peanuts" rule at school, I can't pack it in their lunch. Instead they enjoy it as a treat at home.

I have a pile of 9 bananas, ripe as can be, setting on the counter and need to use them. So here we are, Peanut Butter Banana Caramel Cupcakes! I've never made them before, but think they turned out fantastic!

Peanut Butter Banana Cupcakes

CUPCAKES:
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, very soft
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 large eggs
1 cup ripe banana, mashed (2 large)

1. Cream together butter, peanut butter, and sugar until light and fluffy.

2. Add in eggs one at a time.

3. Mix in mashed bananas.

4. Sift in flour, baking powder, and salt.

5. Stir until combined.

6. Scoop into paper lined cupcake pan.

7. Bake at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes.


PEANUT BUTTER BUTTERCREAM:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 or 3 Tbsp milk

1. Prepare cupcakes and let cool completely.

2. Mix together butter, peanut butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla.

3. Stir in milk.

4. Whip frosting till it's light and fluffy.

Toasted Marshmallow Milkshakes

Mmmm. . .fall got me thinking about campfires. Campfires got me thinking about s'mores. S'mores got me thinking about toasted marshmallows. . . and once I started thinking about that, the wheels started turning and I had to find fun ways to capture that taste!

I LOVE the ooey, gooey, delicious, messy, taste of toasted marshmallows. My kids love milkshakes. . .thus the Toasted Marshmallow Milk Shake. It's so good. So marshmallowy.

This is a good one for summer, spring, winter, or my favorite, FALL!!! My kids wanted to dunk graham crackers in it, and told me next time to add ground chocolate to it! Just may have to give it a try!

Toasted Marshmallow Milk Shakes
Serves 4

1 bag of large marshmallows
5 cups vanilla ice cream
2 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Spray a large pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Spread marshmallows out evenly on pan.

3. Toss under broiler for a few minutes or until marshmallows are toasted and lightly browned.

4. Add to blender, ice cream, milk, and vanilla.

5. Toss in all but 8 marshmallows.

6. Blend until smooth and creamy.

7. Pour in glasses, and top each with two toasted marshmallows!

Caramel Apple Crumble Bars

Caramel Apple Crumble Bars

APPLE FILLING:
10 cups of peeled, diced apples
1 cup of butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon

1. Combine all ingredients in a large pot and stir until incorporated.

2. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, for ten to fifteen minutes.

3. Cool slightly before topping bars.


CRUST & TOPPING:
4 1/2 cups of flour
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 3/4 cup butter, cubed

1. Mix all ingredients together until course and crumbly.

2. Pat 3/4 of the filling into a 10 x 15 pan.

3. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

4. Top with apple filling.

5. Crumble remaining crust ingredients over the top of the apple mixture.

6. Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes.

Homemade Brownie Recipe

Homemade Brownies. . .There's nothing better! This is the recipe my mom always made when we were kids. They're favorite of my dad's, and my husbands! Once you try a real brownie. . .the box just won't cut it anymore!

Homemade Brownie Recipe

2 cups of sugar

1 cup of butter

4 eggs

4 squares of unsweetened melted chocolate

1 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

1. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

2. Add eggs one at a time, making sure they are fully incorporated.

3. Slowly drizzle in melted chocolate.

4. Add in flour, salt, and vanilla.

5. Pour into a 9 x 13 pan sprayed with non stick cooking spray.

6. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.