Happy Halloween!

Need a really last minute Halloween idea?

Head over to my Holiday page for some good ones!

Also, don't forget about my giveaway! Just a few days let to enter!

Candy Corn Crunch Concoction

Today is National Candy Corn Day! (I can't make these things up people!) So for this most festive of holidays, I came up with the following party mix.

Candy Corn Crunch Concoction

And with Halloween being one day away, I thought you could use another snacky idea. Your welcome. :)

 Some people cook with bacon. Some people cook with butter. I cook with candy corn!

Candy Corn Crunch Concoction

3 C wheat Chex cereal

3 C corn Chex cereal

3 C Crispix cereal

2 C mini pretzels

2 C pretzel rounds

2 C mixed party nuts

8 T butter

3 T worcestershire

1 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp seasoning salt

1/2 C candy corn

1/2 C indian corn

1/2 C caramel candy corn

1 C mellowcreme pumpkins

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Mix all cereals, pretzels and nuts together in a large bowl. Cover two baking pans with parchment paper. In a small bowl, melt the butter and all the worcestershire and seasonings. Pour butter mixture over the chex mix and stir to coat every piece evenly. Divide mixture between two pans and bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 mins. Remove from oven and let cool.

Once the mixture is cooled, add the candy corn(s) and stir to combine.

Pour it in a large bowl to serve or into individual containers.

If that looks like a bunch of random snacks thrown together to make one incredibly wonderful chex party mix, well it is. I simply couldn't help myself!

I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe Halloween!!
xoxo Cookin' Cowgirl

Cookin' Cowgirl's First Ever Favorite Things Giveaway

I am SO excited about my first ever giveaway! This giveaway is a celebration of my 500+ fans on facebook! Thank you all so much for your support! I wanted to do something fun for this giveaway and I think you're really going to like it. I always loved the Oprah's Favorite Things episodes, because you could tell that she was having so much fun sharing the things that she loved so much with everyone else. So I thought, "If Oprah did it, why can't I?"

Cookin' Cowgirl's First Ever Favorite Things Giveaway

As I've mentioned before, my favorite season is fall. So for this giveaway, I choose a few things that really remind me of fall or that I use in the fall.  

Pumpkin Spice Coffee from World Market. I GOTTA have my coffee!

Brazilian Nut Shea Body Butter by Tree Hut. Gotta keep that skin glowing into the winter months. And the smell? To die for!

Wallflower Pluggable Fragrance Home Starter and Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin Refills. Nothing says fall like a warm, cozy house that smells lovely and inviting. This stuff is the ticket!

One lucky winner will receive ALL of these fall goodies! The chance to enter will end on Friday, November 4th, at midnight. Rafflecopter will randomly choose a winner and I will announce it on my blog. I will message the winner to get the shipping address. So get to enterin' and good luck! And thanks for all your support! xoxo

 

 Photo's from here, here, and here.

Funfetti Cake Batter Cookies

These make me happy. Like confetti and sprinkles happy.

Funfetti Cake Batter Cookies

Sometimes things get crazy when I remember I have a sprinkle stash. 

Do you remember what this picture was from? 

That's right. It was from my Funfetti Blondie Bites. Oh dear. I think someone should make vitamins that look and taste like sprinkles. Eh? Million dollar idea??

Funfetti Cake Batter Cookies
    makes 30-32
1 box vanilla cake mix, 18.25 oz
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 C vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 C color sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix and baking powder. In a small bowl, mix together the eggs, oil and vanilla. Add the egg mixture to the cake mixture and stir to combine. Stir in the sprinkles. Drop by spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet or silpat.

Bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheet before transferring to cooling rack. They will be very soft at first. 

Cool and enjoy!

You may have noticed that I didn't use an actual Funfetti cake box mix. I did that for two reasons. One, I have seen pictures of those and they kind of lack pizzaz if you ask me. I wanted WAY more sprinkles in mine. Secondly, I wanted to see how the sprinkles turned out in the batter. I think these would make great game day cookies. Just use your school colors (ahem, orange and black!) and bring on the cheers!

Look! Even the underneath side is pretty. :)

These would be fun for a kids party or a baby shower. You could also use pretty red and pink sprinkles and make them for Valentine's Day!

For a more patriotic version, check out my 4th of July cookies: Firecracker Cookies!

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Garden Skillet Egg White Frittata

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Usually for breakfast I am a cereal or oatmeal girl. I freak out if I don't have carbs. It's like a rule or something. But the other weekend, Chris was out of town so I decided to makes something that he would not normally go for. Something with tomatoes, and something without meat.

Garden Skillet Egg White Frittata

I got a few beautiful bell peppers and grabbed a handful of fresh basil leaves from my little farmer's market plant. Also, for this egg white frittata, I used the 100% egg whites in the carton. I didn't have a use for a bunch of yolks at that time and seriously, how convenient are those things?!

Garden Skillet Egg White Frittata

     makes 6 wedges

1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

1/2 orange bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 tomato, seeded and diced

1 1/2 C egg whites

Salt and pepper

1/4 C fresh basil leaves, torn

1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, diced

2 T shredded cheddar

2 T shredded mozzarella

Preheat oven to 325°. In a cast iron skillet, rub the bottom and sides with vegetable oil and sauté the red and orange bell pepper. Once the peppers are softened, add the tomatoes to the pan and turn off the heat. In a small bowl, mix together the egg whites, salt and pepper, basil and chipotle pepper. Pour egg mixture over the peppers and tomatoes. 

Stir gently. Add cheddar and mozzarella to the top. 

Bake the frittata for 25 minutes, or until egg whites are completely set. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. 

Cut into wedges and serve. I served mine with a few avocado slices and some fresh basil on the side. 

Also, a little hot sauce on this would be great. The chipotle pepper really just gave the frittata some smoky flavor, but since I did not use any of the sauce, it wasn't really hot. 

This would be a quick and pretty brunch item to serve and if you have any other veggie leftovers, go ahead and toss those in there too. Since making this "girly frittata," I have made a more manly one for the Mr. 

Both are great, but this one seems more fancy to me. And if you want a low carb breakfast, this is it!

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Owl-O-Ween S'mores

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With Halloween rapidly approaching, I have one last Halloween treat idea for you!

Owl-O-Ween S'mores

I saw this idea on Living Locurto. Amy has some amazing ideas and everything she does is adorable! Check out her site for cute party ideas and free printables.

Now if you check out my blog very often, you may have seen my cute Owl-O-Ween Cookies that I posted earlier this month. It might seem that I'm obsessed with owls. And dessert. And candy corn.

Well I'm not. {On opposite day}.

I simply think owls are adorable, dessert is necessary and candy corn is its own food group. Any hooooooot.

These owls are so easy to put together and they are FAST. Try the ingredients below or use other things to make them unique.

Owl-O-Ween S'mores
adapted from Owl Smores at Living Locurto
Cinnamon graham crackers
Marshmallows and chocolate marshmallows
Orange candy melts
Indian candy corn and caramel candy corn
Dark chocolate chips

Go check out Amy's site to see how it's done! Click here.

The marshmallow is actually really good with the cinnamony graham cracker! And just to make them more of an "adult dessert," I had them with coffee. Of course I had to use my favorite Owlivia mug though! ;)

Make these with kiddos as a fun craft or serve them at a Halloween party. Don't forget to check out my new Holiday Ideas page for more Halloween ideas. Happy Owl-O-Ween!

Love regular s'mores? Try these s'more blondie bars!

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Red Velvet Brownie Heart Bites with White Chocolate Frosting

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Today is mine and Chris' 3 year wedding anniversary! Say it with me, "Awwwwwww!"

I thought I would make him something extra special because, well, he's amazing!

He loves red velvet cake, and when I came across these red velvet brownies on That Skinny Chick can Bake, I knew I had to try them. Also, white chocolate frosting?! YES PLEASE!

I knew I wanted to do little sandwich bites, so I baked these in a 9X13 dish instead of an 8X8 so they would be a little thinner. 

Glad I did! They were still pretty thick.

Red Velvet Brownie Heart Bites with White Chocolate Frosting
    adapted from that skinny chick can bake, originally adapted from how sweet it is
3 T cocoa powder
2 1/2 tsp vanilla, divided
1 oz bottle red food coloring
1 stick butter, room temperature
1 1/2 C sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 C flour
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350° and line a 9X13 pan with non stick foil. In a small bowl, mix the cocoa, 1 1/2 tsp of vanilla and the food coloring together to form a paste. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs, then add the last tsp of vanilla. Once incorporated, mix in the red velvet paste. Add flour and salt and mix just until combined.
Spread batter in the pan and bake for 22-26 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. {Mine took 24}.
Set baking dish on a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Once cooled, use heart cookie cutter to cut out little brownie hearts. Place on parchment paper so they don't stick.

While the brownies are cooling, get started on the frosting.

White Chocolate Frosting
1 stick butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 C powdered sugar
4 oz white chocolate, melted (about 2/3 C white chocolate chips)
1/2 T milk (I used almond milk)

Using the paddle attachment of the mixer, cream butter until fluffy. Add vanilla, then mix in the powdered sugar, 1/2 a cup at a time. Add in the melted white chocolate and mix. Mix in milk.
Once frosting is done, smear it on one brownie heart bite, and top with additional heart.

Look how delicious and fudgy!

If these don't deserve to be on Pinterest, I don't know what does! ;)

These would be fun to do for Christmas in the shape of Santa hats. And how perfect for Valentine's day also. Show your sweetie how much they mean to you. Who doesn't like homemade goodies?!

Another lovely thing about these is that I have crossed the "red velvet something" off the bucket list!

Happy anniversary to my sweet, wonderful husband! I love you, Chris! XOXO

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Roasted Parmesan Basil Tomatoes

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I love that it's cooling off a little outside. It means I can use my oven with out feeling like I am going to have a heat stroke! I know that sounds dramatic, but I think the summer was a little brutal for everyone. And i swear, my kitchen is the hottest room in the house before I turn on any appliances. Well that and my bathroom!
{Hair dryer, straighter, curling iron....}

Roasted Parmesan Basil Tomatoes

Roasted Parmesan Basil Tomatoes

     makes 8 slices

2 large tomatoes

8-12 fresh basil leaves
1 T dried oregano
1 T fennel seeds
Salt and pepper
1/3 C grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 450° and line baking sheet with foil. Slice the tomatoes into 4 slices each; about 1/2 to 3/4 an inch in thickness. {Discard top and bottom of tomato or use in something else}. Place each tomato slice onto baking sheet. Sprinkle tomato slices with salt and pepper, then with oregano and fennel seeds. Chop or tear fresh basil leaves and sprinkle over tomatoes. Lastly, top with Parmesan. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes.

It's really that simple. These little slices sort of tasted like pizza! These would be a nice side dish or appetizer for an Italian meal. The basil and fennel seeds pack a flavor punch and the Parmesan binds it all together. Say it with me....mmmMMMMmmmm.

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